Boards Referendum - English as the first language of Republic of Ireland

Cionnfhaolaidh · 06-12-2008 12:26am #1

Bunreacht na h&#201 wrote: »

1. The Irish language as the national language is the first official language.
2. The English language is recognised as a second official language.

This referendum asks the people of the Boards Republic if they wish to demote the Irish language and promote the English language as the first national language of the Republic. Please vote sensibly.

Overheal · 06-12-2008 12:28am

¿Qué pasa?

javaboy · 06-12-2008 12:29am

I hope Tir na nÓg or whatever they call themselves still have those stupid "collins, pearse and plunkett would be spinning in their graves" posters lying around. They actually might have some relevance to this referendum unlike the last one.

brianthebard · 06-12-2008 12:31am

Do máithair Op?

mumhaabu · 06-12-2008 12:31am

I would say keep the status quo and keep both Languages official. I would put emphasis on stopping the waste where everything is translated into Irish and speaking it is a licence to get into a lazy comfy state public job. It should however be kept as a requirement for all TD's, Gardai and important position within the state, however your average pencil pusher does not need it.

06-12-2008 12:32am

I'll get the popcorn!

towel401 · 06-12-2008 12:34am

why bother? a referendum costs millions and in practice won't change anything. we're in a freaking recession.

but if ya really want to achieve something, ban irish. that way every 10 year old toe rag will make it their business to learn it themselves

thelordofcheese · 06-12-2008 12:35am

/me clears the blast radius.

This won't end well....

Cionnfhaolaidh · 06-12-2008 12:36am

brianthebard wrote: »

Do máithair Op?

An bhfuil do mháithair ar fáil faoi láthair?

Cionnfhaolaidh · 06-12-2008 12:38am

towel401 wrote: »

why bother? a referendum costs millions and in practice won't change anything. we're in a freaking recession.

Fáilte go Internet - this is mostly free. So.. there is actually no charge to hold a referendum here. :eek:

javaboy · 06-12-2008 12:41am

Cionnfhaolaidh wrote: »

Fáilte go Internet - this is mostly free. So.. there is actually no charge to hold a referendum here. :eek:

idirlíon

galwayrush · 06-12-2008 12:43am

I don't don't know what a tracker thingy is in gaelic:rolleyes:

Hagar · 06-12-2008 12:43am

Remember you will have to keep voting until we get the result we want.

ejmaztec · 06-12-2008 12:44am

Something's wrong with my display - everything's gone gibberish. If a hefty tap doesn't sort it, I'll have to re-install Windows. :eek:

Cionnfhaolaidh · 06-12-2008 12:45am

javaboy wrote: »

idirlíon

Ah! Maith an fear.

Jaysus though, I expect a bit of a spa-ZAM over this "Referendum" for the next post or 80.

brianthebard · 06-12-2008 12:48am

galwayrush wrote: »

I don't don't know what a tracker thingy is in gaelic:rolleyes:

http://www.irishdictionary.ie/home

galwayrush · 06-12-2008 12:49am

brianthebard wrote: »

http://www.irishdictionary.ie/home

i'm ytoo pissed

gurramok · 06-12-2008 12:54am

Where's this constitution of the boards republic?

Grudaire · 06-12-2008 1:06am

Suimiúil!

tenner bets that this turns into a hideous debate- as ususal!

Cionnfhaolaidh · 06-12-2008 1:08am

Looks like most of you are wanting an English only Republic.

cson · 06-12-2008 1:08am

The Irish Constitution is amazing as a document in that it is as relevent today as it was in 1937 with only 27 amendments since. Testament to the people who drafted it.

As regards the language issue; it's largely irrelevant which language takes precedence and the only situation I can think of where there is conflict is regards the age limit of the President. Its really 36 and not 35 as if there is conflict between the Irish and English texts of the Bunreacht, the Irish will always take precedence.

Tbh OP I'll give you an AH response here; I don't think most people give a fuck.

06-12-2008 1:10am

Cionnfhaolaidh wrote: »

Looks like most of you are wanting an English only Republic.

Not at all, just how often do you actually hear/use Irish in the "wild".

Cionnfhaolaidh · 06-12-2008 1:10am

cson wrote: »

Tbh OP I'll give you an AH response here; I don't think most people give a fuck.

Fíor, a mhac, ach tá mé ag déanamh rud éigin faoi sin.

javaboy · 06-12-2008 1:12am

cson wrote: »

The Irish Constitution is amazing as a document in that it is as relevent today as it was in 1937 with only 27 amendments since. Testament to the people who drafted it.

And what, that's supposed to be good is it? If I made 27 mistakes on a test, I'd be failed.

And it's still not finished! Plus it's getting in the way of the NWO's plans for world domination.

bUILDERtHEbOB · 06-12-2008 1:13am

I don't really care either way, doubt it would make any difference to my life though, apart from the very likely situation of pro Gaelgie hippy folk flooding our streets with annoying protests and the like.

brianthebard · 06-12-2008 1:16am

cson wrote: »

The Irish Constitution is amazing as a document in that it is as relevent today as it was in 1937 with only 27 amendments since. Testament to the people who drafted it.

Bullsh!t, that's testament to nothing other than there's been 27 amendments. The amount of problems in the constitution are legion, its nowhere near a complete document, nor should we be celebrating Dev and his beloved Bishop for drafting such a conservative, backward stepping piece of literature, designed with the sole purpose of giving himself (Dev) as much power as possible in his then current position as Taoiseach!

Robbo · 06-12-2008 1:17am

Cionnfhaolaidh wrote: »

Fíor, a mhac, ach tá mé ag déanamh rud éigin faoi sin.

Did you get a grant from Eamonn O'Cuiv for that? Because I'm pretty sure there's one available and a job for life in one of his translation gulags.

cson · 06-12-2008 1:18am

javaboy wrote: »

And what, that's supposed to be good is it? If I made 27 mistakes on a test, I'd be failed.

And it's still not finished! Plus it's getting in the way of the NWO's plans for world domination.

The Constitution is a test now is it? I'll happily take you to Politics and debate the merits of it with you.

Otherwise, seeing as this is AH;

http://bifsniff.com/wp-content/files/2007/02/mail.jpg

Nehaxak · 06-12-2008 1:19am

What's the point of running this referendum. If the vote is No you'll just keep running it until you get the yes vote.

Robbo · 06-12-2008 1:21am

cson wrote: »

The Irish Constitution is amazing as a document in that it is as relevent today as it was in 1937 with only 27 amendments since. Testament to the people who drafted it.

That our constitution is amended once every 2.6 years is a source of pride to you?

PeakOutput · 06-12-2008 1:21am

in reality its the first language in principle we should keep irish as the first language

cson · 06-12-2008 1:22am

brianthebard wrote: »

Bullsh!t, that's testament to nothing other than there's been 27 amendments. The amount of problems in the constitution are legion, its nowhere near a complete document, nor should we be celebrating Dev and his beloved Bishop for drafting such a conservative, backward stepping piece of literature, designed with the sole purpose of giving himself (Dev) as much power as possible in his then current position as Taoiseach!

Studied it extensively then?

Note that the Constitution is a 'dynamic' document.

Look anyone who wants to have it out about the Constitution > Politics is the forum and I'd be more than happy to debate it you.

brianthebard · 06-12-2008 1:24am

cson wrote: »

Studied it extensively then?

Note that the Constitution is a 'dynamic' document.

Well as a matter of fact, I have done some studies in this area.

Robbo · 06-12-2008 1:24am

Nehaxak wrote: »

What's the point of running this referendum. If the vote is No you'll just keep running it until you get the yes vote.

The first vote is purely democratic. All subsequent votes have a decreasing level of democracy along the patented "No to Lisbon Slippery Slope-o-meter" where you too can have too much democracy for your own good.

Enough is enough with Rainman-ing out stock replies.

GA361 · 06-12-2008 1:28am

cson wrote: »

As regards the language issue; it's largely irrelevant which language takes precedence

It's our way of sticking it to the English.Although English is our vernacular. . . its only second most important.

brianthebard wrote: »

Bullsh!t, that's testament to nothing other than there's been 27 amendments. The amount of problems in the constitution are legion, its nowhere near a complete document, nor should we be celebrating Dev and his beloved Bishop for drafting such a conservative, backward stepping piece of literature, designed with the sole purpose of giving himself (Dev) as much power as possible in his then current position as Taoiseach!

Actually,the constitution was considered to be very liberal.

javaboy · 06-12-2008 1:30am

cson wrote: »

The Constitution is a test now is it? I'll happily take you to Politics and debate the merits of it with you.

Boring. I was only joking about the fact that it has at least 27 'mistakes' but since you love el constitutiono so much, exactly how is a document that begins with this:

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,
We, the people of Éire,
Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial

as relevant today as it was in 1937? Bearing in mind that we're not supposed to be an officially religious state anymore and that a huge amount of the population couldn't give a damn about the Holy Trinity and put it on a par with the FSM.

As relevant now as it was then? :rolleyes: It falls at the first hurdle. And you can't ignore those 27 amendments. If they hadn't been made, the [1937]constitution would be a joke today.

So no it is not as relevant now as it was then. The technical content might be ok (maybe) but as the constitution of a so-called modern state, it's not very inclusive.

themadchef · 06-12-2008 1:35am

I use Irish on a dialy basis. Generally not full blown in depth conversations just general banter. If someone addresses me in Irish, being Irish, i like to be able to answer back.

We should be proud of our language, nurture it. We are not English or American, though if you listen to some people in conversation you would think we were. I'm not saying everyone has to love the language, but it's part of our heritage.

Just how much of our Irishness will be lost by losing our language? Because effectively that's what will happen.

What about the people who fought and died for our country. Is our generation the one to say "ya know what, we like English better". I'm not saying everyone should be forced to speak it. But, if we stop teaching it in our schools it's fcuked!

cson · 06-12-2008 1:39am

The Preamble is possibly the most contentious issue with the Constitution and it's be cited as an area for reform by the CRG. I'd agree; it has no place in a modern secular state. Although others make the argument that as a predominantly Roman Catholic state the Constitution should reflect this. Personally, I don't agree as the document must represent all of the people not just the majority.

The majority of the Constitution has aged well. As for the argument some of you are making considering the amount of Amendments, I'll state again that the document is considered to be dynamic and over time different interpretations will ensue.

brianthebard · 06-12-2008 1:40am

GA361 wrote: »

It's our way of sticking it to the English.Although English is our vernacular. . . its only second most important.

Actually,the constitution was considered to be very liberal.

Totally subjective, would you like to back that up? But even so in comparison to the 1922 constitution it was a step backwards. Introducing the Catholic church's special position, role of women is the home, taking away popular referendum, that's liberal is it?

cson · 06-12-2008 1:51am

This is straying way off topic. As I said if anyone wishes to debate the merits of the Constitution, a thread in Politics is the way to go.

06-12-2008 1:56am

http://xkcd.com/84/

GA361 · 06-12-2008 1:56am

brianthebard wrote: »

Totally subjective, would you like to back that up? But even so in comparison to the 1922 constitution it was a step backwards. Introducing the Catholic church's special position, role of women is the home, taking away popular referendum, that's liberal is it?

Yep,says so in my history book so it must be true.
Come back to me after you look at this video.
It will really open your eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVZpWy5qaOs

brianthebard · 06-12-2008 1:58am

GA361 wrote: »

Yep,says so in my history book so it must be true.
Come back to me after you look at this video.
It will really open your eyes.

WTF? First, youtube tags fail. Secondly, what? Are you saying that Dev didn't remove popular referendum from the old constitution? Very controversial position you are taking, going against actual recorded facts like that. Tell me, how long have you been a negationist?

GA361 · 06-12-2008 2:14am

brianthebard wrote: »

WTF? First, youtube tags fail. Secondly, what? Are you saying that Dev didn't remove popular referendum from the old constitution? Very controversial position you are taking, going against actual recorded facts like that. Tell me, how long have you been a negationist?

Watch the video and it will all become clear to you.

javaboy · 06-12-2008 2:18am

GA361 wrote: »

Watch the video and it will all become clear to you.

Sorry are you trying to make an argument about a technicality of the Irish constitution using a Youtube video of the Highwaymen?

GA361 · 06-12-2008 2:21am

Yes.But you must take a profound look into the deeper meaning of the video.
And btw,did you like the video?

javaboy · 06-12-2008 2:28am

GA361 wrote: »

Yes.But you must take a profound look into the deeper meaning of the video.

If you linked to the wrong video just say so. There's no need to save face by telling us there's some deep hidden meaning. And there's definitely nothing about whether De Valera removed popular referendum from the old constitution or not.

And btw,did you like the video?

Actually I'm not a fan of that song but I do like the Highwaymen.

cHaTbOx · 06-12-2008 2:37am

aint broke don't fix it

GA361 · 06-12-2008 2:39am

Its the right video.I was just board and wanted to end that debate,I forget why I put that particular song,It's one of my favourites.My opinion.Today that constitution would be very conservative as btb said,but the message that I meant to get across was that it was a very liberal constitution for its time.One must Consider the wider European picture at the time Franco,Stalin,Hitler,Mussolini.None of the citizens in these countries had the same political freedom as was promised under Bunreacht na hÉirinn.That is the angle I was looking at it from.Twas a different world back then.
Enough of the serious talk.This is AH.What are your fav Highwaymen songs?
Mine are Silver Stallion,Highwayman,Living Legend and desperados wating for a train

Bob the Builder · 06-12-2008 2:49am

Article 8:
8.1 The Irish language as the national language is the first official language.

8.2 The English language is recognised as a second official language.

8.3 Provision may, however, be made by law for the exclusive use of either of the said languages for any one or more official purposes, either throughout the State or in any part thereof."

Personally, I say stop beating irish into people. That just makes people hate it from the minute they go to school. It's not a language anymore really - or even a sign of our heritage - it's a subject, which people hate, and a component of a CV.

burgess1 · 06-12-2008 2:53am

No aspect of our everyday lives would change if the constitution were changed. English is the vernacular and the working language of the country. That isn't affected by the fact that Irish is the official first language of the state.

Boards Referendum - English as the first language of Republic of Ireland

Which lingo? 425 votes

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