Today's elections to the board of Udaras na Gaeltachta are of vital importance. It is the Gaeltacht which gives the Irish-language movement its moral authority. It is the Gaeltacht which remains the well of the living, community language. It is the Gaeltacht which ensures that the State cannot renege on its commitments to Irish. It will be the responsibility of the new board to guide the Gaeltacht into the next millennium and to ensure that Ireland's most precious and its one unique cultural resource - an Ghaeilge - is maintained by ensuring that the Gaeltacht remains a vigorous and viable linguistic community.
It will be no easy task. The Gaeltacht has been shrinking remorselessly since the Great Famine. At the turn of the century, there were an estimated 500,000 native speakers. Today, the number of adults who use the language on a daily basis in the Gaeltacht is just over 20,000. And yet, despite the industrialisation, the urbanisation, the globalisation and the anglicisation of contemporary Irish society, the Gaeltacht still survives in seven counties. The artistic traditions of song, story-telling, dance and poetry still continue to spark the imagination of young and old. Let us also remember that there are over a million people outside its boundaries with a knowledge of the language.
There are other signs of hope. The growth of gaelscoileanna has been phenomenal; the education offered by them is second to none. TG4 has done much to give the language a youthful and vibrant image. Given better funding, the station will make a major contribution to its fortunes. One imagines that were Douglas Hyde and the founders of the Gaelic League with us today, they would take pride in these achievements. That the language will carry on into the next millennium is due in no small measure to their foresight.
Regrettably, the vast majority of us rarely use whatever Irish we know, or have the opportunity to maintain it. In this regard, language development in the North has been much more successful in facilitating people's desire to learn. Classes for all ages and all abilities abound - from formal exam courses in institutes of further education to informal classes in community halls. Much more needs to be done in this area by Irish-language groups in the Republic.
What future for those who have inherited Hyde's mantle? The foundation of a North/South language body, An Foras Teanga, as part of the Belfast Agreement heralds a new beginning. Unfortunately, as that body is based primarily on Bord na Gaeilge, serious questions arise as to its effectiveness. Bord na Gaeilge was heavily criticised by an independent report commissioned by the last government. This Government has ignored its recommendations. Because of its failure to act, there is a danger that An Foras Teanga will essentially be Bord na Gaeilge Mark II, with its old shortcomings.
With fresh thinking and new faces, the new body could become an active, open and even-handed promoter of the language. Anything less would shame the voluntary efforts of Douglas Hyde and all who followed him.