"You're never too young to learn" is definitely one motto of Comhluadar, the support group for Irish-speaking families. It has distributed 60,000 bilingual leaflets in the bounty bags handed out by maternity units. The leaflets give advice on raising a child with two languages and offer a free starter pack of Irish-language books.

Director MβirΘad U∅ Dhomhnaill says she is receiving, on average, 15 calls a month from parents looking for information on schools and classes. And you don't have to be in labour to avail of her services (tel: (01) 2885894; email: comhluadar@eircom.net).