Conradh na Gaeilge is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emerged as the successor of several 19th century groups such as the Gaelic Union. The organisation was a spearhead of the Gaelic revival and of Gaeilgeoir activism.
Although Irish has been used as a literary language for more than 1,500 years, and modern literature in Irish dates – as in most European languages – to the 16th century, modern Irish literature owes much of its popularity to the 19th century Gaelic Revival, a cultural and language revival movement, and to the efforts of more recent poets and writers. In an act of literary decolonization common to many other peoples seeking self-determination, writers in Irish have taken the advice of Patrick Pearse and have combined influences from both their own literary history and the whole of world literature. Writers in Modern Irish have accordingly produced some of the most interesting literature to come out of Ireland, while being both supplemented and influenced by poetry and prose composed in the Irish language outside Ireland.
Lá was an Irish-language daily newspaper based in Belfast. It was the first daily newspaper in Ireland to be published in Irish. Lá Nua belonged to the Belfast Media Group, and was a sister paper of the Andersonstown News.
Foinse was an Irish-language newspaper in Ireland. It was first published October 1996 and had both print and online editions until September 2013 when its publisher, Móinéar Teo, announced that it would become online only from that month. The Foinse website continued to be active until 2015 when it was shut down.
Séamus Ó Grianna was an Irish writer, who used the pen name Máire.
Pádraig Ó Snodaigh is an Irish language activist, poet, writer and publisher. He worked for the Irish Electricity Supply Board, and later in the National Museum of Ireland. He is a former president of Conradh na Gaeilge, the Gaelic League.
Proinsias Mac Aonghusa was an Irish journalist, writer, TV presenter and campaigner. Born into an Irish-speaking household, Mac Aonghusa became one of the most noted Irish language broadcasters and journalists of the 20th century, appearing as the presenter of Irish-language programming for RTÉ, UTV and BBC and as a journalist for newspapers both domestic and international. Influenced by family friends Peadar O'Donnell and Máirtín Ó Cadhain as well as his own parents growing up, Mac Aonghusa pursued Irish republican and socialist politics as an adult and was heavily involved in the Labour Party during the 1960s, at one point serving as its vice-chairman. However, Mac Aonghusa's engagement in factionalism and infighting saw him expelled in 1967. Following the Arms Crisis of 1970, Mac Aonghusa became an ardent supporter of Charles Haughey, a relationship which later proved highly beneficial to Mac Aonghusa when Haughey gained control over Fianna Fáil in the 1980s and appointed Mac Aonghusa to a number of state-run positions. A prolific writer throughout his life, Mac Aonghusa continued to publish books up until his death.
An tUltach was the official magazine of Comhaltas Uladh, the Ulster branch of Conradh na Gaeilge. It was in circulation from 1924 to 2018.
Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair is an Irish-medium secondary school in the Gaeltacht district of Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal, Ireland. It has a pupil attendance of around 450.
Comhar is a prominent literary journal in the Irish language, published by the company Comhar Teoranta. It was founded in 1942, and has published work by some of the most notable writers in Irish, including Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Seán Ó Ríordáin, Máirtín Ó Direáin, Máire Mhac an tSaoi and Brendan Behan. Comhar also publishes books in Irish.
Nollaig Ó Gadhra was an Irish-language activist, journalist and historian in Ireland. He was president of Conradh na Gaeilge from 2004 to 2005. He was also a founding member of Teilifís na Gaeilge.
Corn Uí Riada is the premier sean-nós singing competition at Oireachtas na Gaeilge, an annually held arts festival of Irish culture. It is named in honour of the composer and founder of the legendary male choir Cór Chúil Aodha, Seán Ó Riada. A Cóisir Uí Riada is held whilst tuning into the broadcast of Corn Uí Riada, on the internet.
A Neo-Gaeltacht is an area where Irish has a strong presence as a spoken language but is not part of the officially defined or traditional Gaeltacht areas. It has been argued that non-Gaeltacht activist groups wishing to establish an Irish language community need to show that it is large, permanent and formally organised and that it has a growing number of people using Irish as their first language. Another objective is a situation in which children use Irish among themselves and with other Irish speakers in a natural way while being able to deal with a largely English-speaking world.
The official status of the Irish language has remained high in the Republic of Ireland from foundation. This reflects the dominance of the language in Irish cultural and social history until the nineteenth century and its role in Irish cultural identity. In 2022, strong recognition was added in Northern Ireland also. In the 2022 Republic of Ireland census 1,873,997 people or 39.8% of the population in the Republic of Ireland said that they had some ability to speak Irish, out of an overall population of 5,149,139. In Northern Ireland 228,600 people (12.4%) have some ability in the Irish language according to the 2021 census for Northern Ireland, out of a population of 1,903,175 people. It has been found, however, that while ideological support for Irish is high, actual routine use is very low, and that there is very little or rare correlation between personal fluency in the language and the perceived value of Irish as an identity-marker. Nevertheless, the language benefits from the support of activists who continue to use it as a social and cultural medium.
Páidí Ó Lionáird is an Irish television presenter and columnist from Cúil Aodha, County Cork. Since 1997, Ó Lionáird has been the presenter of current affairs and entertainment shows on the Irish language channel TG4.
Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa is an Irish language poet, magazine editor and language activist.
Máirín Ní Mhuiríosa was an Irish scholar, poet and journalist.
Tarlach Ó hUid was an English-born Irish language activist, journalist and writer who became a member of the Irish Republican Army during World War II.
Mícheál Ó hUanacháin is an Irish poet and journalist from Dublin, Ireland. He worked as a reporter and broadcaster for RTÉ until his retirement in 2009.
