I was travelling to our local chemist in Ceathrú Rua and there was a Garda Checkpoint on the road. We were stopped and before we could say anything the cheerful Garda greeted us "Agus cé chaoi bhfuil sibh ar maidin?" I explained my errand and we went on our way. As I drove I felt strangely uplifted, even joyful.
Why?
Well I have been dealing with the state for over fifty years and always the first approach is a sort of confrontation. If I start in Irish there are various blank stares if it is in person and they go looking for "the person with Irish." Or on the phone "The person with Irish is not here..." or "...on her tea break!" In fact up to now if I have been stopped by a Garda on the road in the course of their duty they have always initiated the proceedings in English even in the Gaeltacht. Sometimes refusal to respond in English has resulted in frogmarching to the station. This attitude has lead unsurprisingly to the interaction between the state and those whose daily language is Irish, such as those who live in Gaeltacht Areas, to be in English with the inevitable and frequent claim by the civil service "There is no demand for it!"
I have even been told on more than one occasion by an employee of the State, the constitution of which states that Irish is the first official language, that I would get a better and more efficient service if I dealt with them in English.
There have been some conversations recently discussing this on twitter and the on-line publication NÓS (Irish). Indeed when somebody is served in Irish it is the occasion for some happy sharings on social media. This tells its own story. I have yet to see somebody rejoicing in the ability of any state service to provide a service through English.
Hopefull the wrangling currently in progress in Leinster House as the new ten year delayed Language Bill will manage to sort out this particular problem. However looking at the Government's rejection of almost all of the recommendations of both the Coimisinéir Teanga and the Oireachtas Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community (Irish) not to mention those of Linguistic experts, language bodies and the ordinary Seán and Siobhán Citizen.
The Government - all Governments of whatever hue say they favour the advancement of the National Language. Ring up any Government and discover just how they have done in the 99 odd years of the State. The great Michael Collins said shortly before he died, "...the biggest task will be the restoration of the language. How can we express our most subtle thoughts and finest feelings in a foreign tongue? Irish will scarcely be our language in this generation, not even perhaps in the next. But until we have it again on our tongues and in our minds we are not free, and we will produce no immortal literature...."
The milk-watery efforts or indeed subtle hostility of some of his successors have in no small way contributed to the current situation.
I have quoted a Nigerian poet, John Ekwere, in this regard before and his words mutas mutandis perhaps reflect the situation.
-
"Now no more the palefaced strangers
With unhallowed feet
The heritage of our fathers profane;
Now no missioned benevolent despots
Bull-doze an unwilling race;
Now no more the foreign hawks
On alien chickens prey -
but we on us."
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