Talk:Irish language

Irish/Gaelic

I think it is now time for another talk-page discussion on the inclusion of a certain word in the lead which is causing contention. Perhaps there should be a vote? 3 things should be pointed out:

• Whether for right or wrong, the words Gaelic and Irish-Gaelic are frequently attested in reliable-sources (not just Britannica or Collins dictionary by the way) and are used in everyday speech (believe it or not, by a number of Irish people such as myself).
• The words Irish and Gaelic are both English and derive from the same word: Gaeilge. They are synonyms. Combining them as 'Irish-Gaelic' is a way to differentiate from Scottish Gaelic.
• Wikipedia is not a platform for supporting any sort of 'movement' or subjective view. It is an objective encyclopaedia for facts. Therefore, we must not let our sentiments get in the way of this.

Buíochas, Gaelicbow (talk) 11:03, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Please see a couple of the later sections in the most recent talk page archive for background. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 12:32, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, hadn't noticed that. But I am confused by your recent edits? Both the terms Gaelic and Irish Gaelic are in use in Ireland and by Irish scholars. Admittedly, the latter much less so in Ireland, but that's neither here nor there when it is in use outside of Ireland and by scholars. I don't think it should be explained in lead because it's a weebit involuted with this sort of prose (perhaps an EFN note?). Gaelicbow (talk) 13:20, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

I've never seen "Irish Gaelic" used in Ireland, except where it's used to distinguish between Irish and Scots Gaelic. From previous discussions, IIRC, it's been shown that "Gaelic" is used far more often than "Irish Gaelic". Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 13:55, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

@Bastun Alright, I understand. Still, I would suggest an EFN note on Irish Gaelic simply for the prose to flow better. And I think if we can agree that any IPs or whoever removing it from the lead should be reverted because this war on the use of the word Gaelic is getting so tiring.

Buíochas, Gaelicbow (talk) 14:28, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

And it's back. Despite massive past discussion, a little of this old song plays again. Both "Gaelic" and "Irish Gaelic" as names for the language must be mentioned, we mostly agree, I think - but wording crept in lately which put special emphasis on Gaelic as being used in Ireland. And it really isn't much of a thing, neither among Gaeilgeori, nor Bearleori, nor the most of us with some retained skills. I've restored the wording which includes the two terms, but leaves out "Ireland" - as the only term used by most of Ireland is "Irish". Yes, some exceptions exist, and historically it was different, but as per State positions ("Irish: The Gaelic language in Ireland – Gaeilge, or Irish as it's known locally), or popular (language learner sites have statements like "Irish Gaelic is more specific than Gaelic. It refers specifically to the Irish language. This term is not used within Ireland.") or scholarly (most get a bit cross about it, seeing Gaelic as a generic term)... SeoR (talk) 19:57, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

What does "daily speakers" mean here?

I'm very confused by the sentence "with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890.". What is "daily speakers" referring to? Theanswertolifetheuniverseandeverything (talk) 21:30, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Irish syntax

Can somebody please find and add reliable sources to this article? Ten thousand thanks. Bearian (talk) 08:52, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

Name

I don't know if I'm touching on an already discussed topic here, but it is my belief that most Irish people would not call it Irish but Gaelic or Irish Gaelic. So I'm thinking Irish Gaelic language for the page title. But I'm not starting an RM without some input. Cheers, --IWI (talk) 20:55, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

See Talk:Irish language#Irish/Gaelic above Snowman304|talk 21:06, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

@Snowman304: Thank you mate, my eyesight missed that one. So I'll leave it there :) --IWI (talk) 21:22, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I recently got into a Twitter fight over Irish people apparently viciously hating people calling it “Gaelic” so that’s another reason we probably couldn’t do that. Hugo P. Behrmann (☎) 15:32, 1 March 2026 (UTC)

Native to parameter

couldnt this be Ireland instead of the republic and the north? I feel like that'd be simpler Finnfrog99 (talk) 12:36, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

stating theres 1 million speakers is misleading

Yes, im well aware that this comes from the census, however its very obvious there is not over one million speakers of Irish. Could we clarify that this is speakers of Irish at *any* level including only knowing a few words? Or even remove it? ~2026-40073-00 (talk) 08:26, 17 July 2026 (UTC)

@~2026-40073-00: It's very likely that you are right. The text of the article makes it clear that the total figure includes people who don't in practice use Irish, but can you provide a reliable source supporting the view that many of the people who "declared they could speak Irish" in fact can do so only at a trivial level? If you can then the information can be included in the article. JBW (talk) 09:56, 17 July 2026 (UTC)