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Irish language in Northern Ireland

The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census aged 3 and above who stated that they can speak Irish

The Irish language (Irish: Gaeilge) is, since 2022, an official[1] language in Northern Ireland. The main dialect spoken there is Ulster Irish (Gaeilge or Gaeilg Uladh). Protection for the Irish language in Northern Ireland stems largely from the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.[2]

In the 2021 census, Irish was the main language of 0.3% of the population aged 3 and up,[3] an increase from 0.2% in the previous survey,[4] while 12.4% of that population had some ability in Irish, also an increase from previous census results.[3] As well, for the first time, the census asked the frequency of speaking Irish. 43,557 said they spoke Irish on a daily basis, which accounts for 2.43% of Northern Ireland's population.[5]

  1. ^ "Irish language and Ulster Scots bill clears final hurdle in Parliament". BBC News. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  2. ^ "European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages". www.coe.int.
  3. ^ a b Main statistics for Northern Ireland - Statistical bulletin - Language. Belfast: NISRA for Census Office (UK). 22 September 2022. pp. 4, 6, 7.
  4. ^ "The role of the Irish language in Northern Ireland's deadlock". The Economist. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Frequency of Speaking Irish". nisra.gov.uk. 21 March 2023.

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