Percentage of Irish who speak Irish daily

I am currently in Dublin. My last visit to Ireland was nearly a decade ago. At that time I was in Limerick and wrote about the status of the Irish language. Unfortunately, since then the language situation has not improved, with currently only around 2% of Irish reporting in the last census that they speak Irish as their main home language. On the other hand, there is an increase in the overall number of speakers of the language, although many have only a basic level of proficiency. That is due to the fact that Irish is a core subject in the primary school curriculum (in the Republic of Ireland, not in Northern Ireland). In Dublin, street signs and names of shops/restaurants are in both English and Irish, often with Irish given first. In fact, Dublin is one of the bright spots for Irish, with more than 50 Irish immersion schools (Gaelscoileanna). In the 2021 UNESCO’s Atlas of World Language Irish is listed as “definitely endangered” but it seems nonetheless to have a prominent presence in Ireland. As Welsh is in Wales, Irish is an important identity marker and source of pride in Ireland, a way to distinguish itself from England.

We were hoping to hear some traditional Irish music here and today went to the most famous pub in Dublin, the Temple Bar Pub, which advertises 24/7 music. We wanted to avoid the crowds so went there at 11 a.m. and sure enough there was music playing: a small band playing John Denver classics and other pop/rock songs – no Irish tunes. Tonight, the big news here in music is a concert happening near our hotel: Taylor Swift. Tickets are going for $1400 each – we will pass and try and again for a pub with Irish music.