Sir, – As things stand, the dwindling Gaeltacht is past saving. It has been dwindling for a long time, and recently, because the predominant will among its people has been switching from Irish to English.
No words or action by outsiders have stopped this dwindling and none can.
The only thing that could stop it is if the few remaining Gaeltacht people decide to save their lrish language and to stop switching to English. But they seem unlikely to make this decision. – Yours, etc, Dr DESMOND FENNELL Sandymount, Dublin 4.
Sir, – The death-knell of Irish as a spoken community language is sounded with great clarity in Conchúr Ó Giollagáin's opinion piece ("Irish in crisis", June 29th).
A “new deal” is required if Irish is to survive as a vernacular in Gaeltacht districts beyond the next 10 years according to recently-published research co-authored by Prof Ó Giollagáin.
Acknowledging reality is the first step in successfully confronting a crisis and we are indebted to Ó Giollagáin for drawing attention to the lack of commitment and coherence in Irish language policy.
Now that the country is exiting a period of severe economic and social dislocation it’s surely time to take stock of what matters to us as a people.
Do we want to be the generation on whose watch the lived expression of the most distinctive aspect of our Irishness is lost without a fight?
Addressing this task with the strategic vision and determination which it requires would be a fitting gesture in this decade of commemorations. – Yours, etc, MARTIN HAWKES Rathgar, Dublin 6.