I agree, I don't think anybody on here thinks that is the goal. I do think having larger cohort of the population that are comfortable in reading and speaking Irish is a worthy aspiration for the language.
When I went on J1 and wanted to speak to my fiends about yanks we spoke Irish..When I went travelling and were buying knock off rubbish from some dude me and my buddies discussed this in Irish.
When my kids were small and me and my wife wanted to talk about them we would do it in Irish.
I am far from fluent but have enough to make it if not daily certainly weekly usage and would enjoy the opportunity to use it some more.
Okay, I don't agree with the "White Flight" concept. you'd hear it often. Maybe they wanted an opportunity for their children to be Bilingual. That was certainly my reason for selecting my local Gaelscoil. that and the that the local English language school was not coeducational. I think segregation of sexes at primary (or secondary) level is asinine and harmful to society even if it's considered beneficial for some individuals.
I absolutely reject this statement. I am not a republican nor am I particularly nationalistic.
The constitution, the very founding document of the state is written as Gaeilge. That document sets out the official language of the country as both Irish and English. If there is a contradiction between the Irish version and its English translation then the Irish version takes primacy
Linking it to republicanism is both wrong and fucking wrong.
As it happens I don't believe that Tír gan teanga, Tír gan Anam. I don't believe it of anywhere else either not Brazil, not Wallonia not French Canada.
An Irish person is no less Irish for not speaking the language. As much as they are not less Irish for not playing Hurling or the Úileann pipes. But the language belongs to us all, not the republican movement and not a mysterious Cabal Irish speakers either.
I have more respect for the posters as MOE and Dan and a few others have done, who openly say they think the language is dead than take this bullshit position.
I'm okay with you having a different opinion from me. People Either think that language acquisition is important or they do not.
I happen to hold a different position. That learning the language in and of itself is worthy and education should go a bit beyond crafting an economic unit that a business can use in future. It'd be a dark day If the children of Ireland studied Chinese as has been suggested here in preference to Irish.
You can make the same "utility" argument about studying poetry or literature or even in a world where a supercomputer sits in your pocket about maths..But all those arguments are also in my opinion are deeply flawed and wrong headed.
The benefits of Bilingualism are many and well studied
Most people in the world speak more than one language, suggesting the human brain evolved to work in multiple tongues. If so, are those of us who speak only one language missing out?
www.bbc.com
Primarily it is thought that if you teach kids a second language before age 6 or 7 the parallel paths it creates in your brain mean language acquisition becomes easier for 3rd or 4th languages. There isn't really that much divergence in the literature. The actual language studied is less important.