Northern Ireland 2125?

There has been little or no government budget in Ireland for public toilets. Here is what the person in the Times wrote again:

"What is it with the Irish and public toilets? On a recent visit to your beautiful country, the one major issue I continually encountered while cycling about was the lack of public toilet facilities. For example, while visiting one of the “signature points” on the Wild Atlantic Way, the stunning Downpatrick Head located in north Mayo, I expected the minimum facility one would expect at such an idyllic location was a toilet block. The nearest public toilets to this location was a 30km cycle, and then to find one of these toilets in the town of Ballina was a mission in itself as there are no signs whatsoever indicating where these toilets might be hidden.

While in Ireland it was of interest to note that Fáilte Ireland are in the process of marketing the inner regions of Ireland. It is calling it “Ireland’s Hidden Heartland”. Surely they won’t endeavour to make finding the public toilets there even harder than it does on the Wild Atlantic Way?"

People were never banned from speaking it or writing it is what was meant. Most people are never in court in their lives, and even if they are, the vast vast majority ( 99.9%?) of court cases in this state - never mind N. Ireland where Irish is not rammed down everyones throats in school - are heard in English, as it is the language everyone knows and understands. Never banned as such, except in court. But in the 20th century I do not think anyone pleaded in a court in N.I., not even anyone from outside the N.I. jurisdiction, they could only speak Irish?

In N. Ireland it made sense to ban it in court in the mid 20th century there as the last native speaker of Ulster Irish died around then, and almost nobody spoke Irish. It was not taught in schools in N.I. in the 1940s, 50s etc.

 Now of course you have more people speaking Polish in Ireland than Irish.

Your newspaper headline said "once banned Irish language sees a resurgence in Belfast"

I said that headline is untrue / misleading.  Irish was never banned in Northern Ireland, except in courts, but most people never are in court in front of a Judge. People in N.Ireland were never banned from practicising it as a hobby, or speaking it in day to day life, although of course in the 1940s, 1950s etc almost nobody did.

The definition of banning is "officially prevent (someone) from doing something." As noted already, people were always free to do it as their own hobby since N. Ireland came in to existence. And as pointed out to you already, it is about as useful as Latin, so virtually nobody did.

Your constant lack of ability to see the facts are a cringe.

Only in courts. But most people never appear in front of courts in their lives, and anyone who did understood English. People could - and can - use Irish to their hearts content, even here on boards.ie. Here on boards.ie 99.99% of people never do. Go ahead if you want. No law against it.

Never banned in everyday use. The last native speaker of Ulster Irish in N.Ireland died around the mid 20th century, and almost nobody spoke Irish. It was not taught in schools in N.I. in the 1940s, 50s either.

Selling illegial grugs, speeding in excess of the speed limit etc were banned all right. Ok you could argue speeding in excess of the speed limit was not banned in that if you owned an airfield or private car race track you could do 100 or 120 m.p.h. there if your vehicle was capable of it, but in everyday life speeding was banned. Irish was not banned, not in everyday life.

I do not think the Irish language is banned on boards.ie either, but nobody, or almost nobody, uses it.

Your newspaper headline said "once banned Irish language sees a resurgence in Belfast"

I said that headline is untrue / misleading, as according to the definition of banning, it was not banned for most people, as most people did not go to court. Even those who did go to court did not use Irish between themselves and their solicitors, because the last native speaker of Ulster Irish died out in the mid 20th century. And even if those people in front of a court wanted to use Irish, and could use Irish, they were never banned from using Irish outside a court.

Have a good weekend, and I bet extremely few people will use a word of Irish all weekend.

The once respectable Washington post newspaper will have to answer for their headline "once banned Irish language sees a resurgence in Belfast" just because it says there is now a class of SEVEN kids learning Irish in East Belfast.

I am having a great weekend, as usual, thank you.

The headline mentioned Northern Ireland and how Irish was banned there. The famine etc you harp back to did not occur in Northern Ireland, it was not even in existence then.

Hence the headline is untrue / misleading.

Anyway, the class of 7 liitle kids being taught Irish in east Belfast hopes to increase in size next year, or so the newspaper says. Awww dear.

The last native speaker of Ulster Irish in Northern Ireland died out in the mid 20th century - did you not know that? Nobody was ever prevented from using Irish language in day to day life.

Even on boards.ie, how many people use Irish here?

Schools were not teaching Irish in N.I. then, nobody was using Irish, the last speaker of Ulster Irish (which you could argue as native to the 6 counties - west of Ireland Irish or Kerry Irish was not) died in the mid 20th century.

You have not answered the question:

Even on boards.ie, how many people use Irish here?

And most posters on boards.ie would have learnt Irish, like it or not, throughout their primary AND secondary schooling.

So thats what N.I. is, or was, "East Ulster" 🤣🤣

Interesting you think boards.ie bans Irish? Is there any other similar website that uses Irish?

You still never provided evidence of Irish langauge ever been spoken or used in any meaningful amount in N.I. in the mid 20th century. My uncles neighbours cousin when visiting the Falls road once used a cupla focail does not cut it.

Loads of evidence? No there was not. There may be loads of evidence that Japanese was used across Ireland say last year, in 2024, but that does not mean in was widespread.

Not even in East Ulster, as you now call the 6 counties!

lol. If the BBC broadcasted two half-hour programmes on Swaheli in the 1960s, that does not mean Swaheli was widespread in any part of the UK. If there was a club for bog-snorkeling in Ireland, that does not mean it was widespread.

I never said the last speaker of "Ulster Irish" died out. What did happen that the last speaker of Ulster Irish who was native to Northern Ireland died in the mid 20th century.

And of course the degree of widespeadness or otherwise of Irish language then was the point.

And as noted already, you still never provided evidence of Irish langauge ever been spoken or used in any meaningful amount in N.I. in the mid 20th century. Your uncle's neighbours cousin when visiting the Falls road once used a "cupla focail" does not cut it.

Me using the term "cupla focail" in this post does not mean Irish is a language used for debate on boards.ie

And in 50 years time nobody can really say boards.ie in 2025 was bi-lingual. Athough if you were around in 2025, I'd say you probably would try to make that claim.

So you disagree with the widely held view the last native Irish speakers on Rathlin island died in the mid 20th century?

At leasr we are agreed that there was never widespread use of Irish in N Ireland in the mid 20th century (someone's uncle's neighbours cousin when visiting the Falls road once using a "cupla focail" does not cut it) and speaking it or using it in everyday use was not banned.

So your newspaper headline on N. Ireland "once banned Irish language sees a resurgence in Belfast" is at least misleading.

Some of the claims on this thread are not accurate.

My father is from N.I.. He learned Irish in school in the 1940s. It was the Ulster dialect. He's still alive and can still speak bits and pieces of Ulster Irish.