Spotsolas Seachtain na Gaeilge : Róisín Á Costello

Le ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar Seachtain na Gaeilge 2023, ba mhaith leis An Chomhairle um Thaighde in Éirinn spotsholas a chur ar roinnt dár dtaighdeoirí Gaeilge.

To celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge 2023 the Irish Research Council is highlighting a selection of our funded Irish language researchers.

Ag fiosrú ar chearta agus ar reachtaíocht mionteangacha ar oileán na hÉireann

Le cúig bliana anuas tá sraith amháin de m’obair acadúil dírithe ar an aitheantas a tugtar don Gaeilge ar oileán na hÉireann agus ar an gcosaint a thugtar di faoin dlí agus mar chuid den beartais poiblí. Ag tógáil ar thaighde a bhí déanta roimhe seo maidir le todhchaí bunreachtúil an Gaeilge in Éirinn aontaithe, i 2022 chríochnaigh mé tionscadal arna mhaoiniú ag gradam New Foundations ón gComhairle um Thaighde in Éirinn agus ón Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha. Bhí sé mar aidhm ag an tionscadal sin, (‘Ag Tacú le hÚsáid na Gaeilge ar Bhonn Trasphobail – Moltaí agus Léargais,’ a rinneadh i gcomhpháirtíocht le Linda Ervine agus an tionscadal Turas in Oirthear Bhéal Feirste) gréasán ildisciplíneach acadóirí, cleachtóirí dlí, agus baill den pobail sibhialta a chruthú chun iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar conas is féidir na Gaeilge a chur chun cinn trasna gach traidisiúin ar an Oileán.

Bhí suim faoi leith agam ar líonra a thógtháil chonas go bhféadfadh a chuid baill dul i mbun comhoibriú agus iad ag mapáil na ngnéithe ar an talamh a thacaíonn le húsáid na Gaeilge idir na phobail agus dlínse éagsúla ar an Oileán agus na léargais sin a roinnt agus obair ar mbun maidir le reachtaíocht na dteangacha oifigiúla. Thar saol an tiaghde agus ár comhrá, d’fhill an líonra agus a baill, arís agus arís eile, ar an tábhacht a bhaineann le úinéireachta a chothú i dtaobh an nGaeilge i measc an pobail. Chuige seo ba mhinic a thug baill an líonra faoi deara an teannas a bhí ann idir cearta polaitiúla a thabhairt don Ghaeilge (agus do chainteoirí Gaeilge) – trí aitheantas dlíthiúil, cearta úsáide, agus tacaíochtaí infreastruchtúir – agus an gá le “dípholaitíocht” a dhéanamh ar an nGaeilge chun rannpháirtíocht a chothú ó raon níos leithne de phobail an tír.

Ritheadh an tAcht um Fhéiniúlacht agus Teanga (Tuaisceart Éireann) 2022, ​​go gairid tar éis críochnú an tionscadail, agus léiríonn téacs an Acht cé chomh deacair is atá sé teacht ar comhréiteach idir dípholaitíocht agus aitheantas polaitíochta i dtaobh mionteangacha. D’aithnaigh an líonra, ach go háirithe na baill ó Tuaisceart na hÉireann nach bhfuil san Acht ó Thuaidh, nó an reachtaíocht atá ann ó Dheas, ach chuid den réiteach chun mionteangacha agus a n-úsáideoirí a chur chun cinn agus a chosaint ar an Oileán. Mar a léirigh obair Turas, agus go leor de na rannpháirtithe eile sa líonra le linn an tionscadail, is minic gur cúinsí seach-dhlíthiúla agus gníomhaíochtaí neamhfhoirmiúla a bhfuil an tioncar is mó acu ar dearca pobail i leith na Gaeilge go fadtéarmach.

Exploring minority language rights and legislation on the island of Ireland

A strand of my academic work over the last five years has focused on the recognition of, and protections afforded to, the Irish language on the island of Ireland. Building on previous research concerning the constitutional future of Article 8 of Bunreacht na hÉireann in a united Ireland, in 2022 I completed a network building project funded by an Irish Research Council and Department of Foreign Affairs’ New Foundations award. That project, ‘Supporting Irish Language Use on a Cross-Community Basis – Recommendations and Insights,’ undertaken in partnership with Linda Ervine and the Turas project in East Belfast set out to create a multidisciplinary network of academics, legal practitioners, and community and civil society actors working on minority language rights on the island of Ireland in order to explore how Irish use can be promoted across all traditions.

I was particularly interested in building a network whose members could collaborate and map the on the ground features which support the use of Irish across communities and jurisdictions, and who would be able to share insights on how those features can be reflected in official languages legislation. Over the course of nine months, what the network and its members returned to, repeatedly, in our discussions was the importance of fostering a sense of ownership of Irish in communities where it has been lost, and among individuals who feel excluded from the language. In this respect the network members often noted the tension to be negotiated between affording Irish (and Irish speakers) political rights – through legal recognition, rights of use, and associated infrastructural supports – and the perceived need to “de-politicise” Irish in order to foster greater engagement from a broader range of citizens.

The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, passed shortly after the conclusion of the project illustrates just how difficult it can be to walk this line, seeking to recognise minority languages without retrenching a view that they belong to only some groups or communities. The 2022 Act, and the amendment to official languages legislation in the Republic of Ireland are thus only part of the solution in promoting and protecting minority languages and their users. As the work of Turas, and many of the network participants, showed during the project, it is often extra-legal factors and informal, social activities that can most reliably alter community attitudes to Irish in the long term and provide sustainable shifts in language use and demand for Irish learning.