Tá Gá le Gníomh
By Ciarán Mac Aodha Bhuí
Article originally published in Issue 8 of Rupture, Ireland’s eco-socialist quarterly, buy the print issue:
With 17,000 people marching down the streets of Belfast this May for ‘An Lá Dearg’, the Irish language pushed itself to the fore of political discourse. The 2022 Lá Dearg served as the culmination of years of self-organising and protest, pressuring Westminster into passing legislation on the Irish language that had previously been blocked by the DUP. In his reflection on the protest for Comhar, Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh placed these years in their wider context, noting that “níor scríobhadh le cúpla mí anuas ach an chéad chaibidil eile san aistear fada sin, aistear athbheochana teanga agus aistear pobail a bhfuil bóthar mór le siúl acu fós” ("what was written over the last few months is only the next chapter of that journey, the journey for language revival and the journey of a community with a long road still to walk'').[1] As ecosocialists, it is imperative that we understand the journey being undertaken by Irish speakers and identify our potential place within it, linking the need for language revival with wider struggles for a break from neoliberal capitalism. However, we must first understand the importance of this journey, the struggles underpinning it, and how we can go about contributing.
Dearcadh
As previously outlined by Eoin Burns for this magazine, neoliberal capitalism promotes a rigid, largely externalised view of language - assigning linguistic value on the basis of commercial viability.[2] To twist the words of Michael Hartnett, we perpetually search for “the perfect language to sell pigs in” - with languages being viewed solely through the lens of commerce, trade, and communication with new audiences. This system of linguistic value leads to the destruction of minority or endangered languages, with Burns noting that “revival efforts are viewed as a romanticised but ultimately hopeless attempt to keep the language alive against an increasingly interconnected world pushed by the ‘progress’ of global capital”.[3] We on the left must consciously break from this notion, understanding the origins of this value system and its wider implications.
In order to understand where these notions of linguistic value stem from, we must look at the work of Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. Ngũgĩ started his career writing in English, eventually shifting to his native language of Gikuyu upon investigating the link between imperialism and language. Central to this investigation was the idea that languages serve a dual purpose - reflecting and shaping the values, self-perception, and wider perspective of its speakers. In other words, languages provide us with ways of seeing as well as speaking. Ngũgĩ links the idea of linguistic value to this dual purpose, noting how colonisers use ‘the cultural bomb’ of language shift in order to destroy the identity of colonised peoples. "The effect of a cultural bomb is to annihilate a people’s belief in their names, in their languages, in their environment, in their heritage of struggle, in their unity, in their capacities and ultimately in themselves."[4] The language and culture of the colonised are destroyed and portrayed as “inferior”, generally being confined to the past tense. He argues that this destruction and devaluation ensures the continuation of colonisation - if "the bullet was the means of the physical subjugation [...] language was the means of the spiritual subjugation."[5]
This link between language and colonialism is particularly important in the Irish context, with the destruction of the Irish language serving as an explicit aim of Britain’s colonial policy. In order to outline this link, the late Tomás Mac Síomóin turns to the words of colonist Edmund Spenser - "the words are the image of the mynde, the mynde must needs be affected with the word: so that the speech being Irishe, the harte must needs be Irishe, for out of the aboundance of the harte the tongue speaketh."[6] In The Broken Harp, Mac Síomóin argues that the adoption of the English language served as "the surest way to ensure the permanent acceptance by the 'Wild Irish' of English rule and customs, and, thus, of their condition as colonised subjects within the then Anglosphere economic order".[7] For colonialism to work, there is a need for those on the receiving end to view the world through the lens of their coloniser, devaluing themselves in the process.
Colonialism plays a major role shaping broader attitudes to Irish in the two states on the island. This link takes on a more blatant form in the six counties, with the derision and hostility shown towards Irish speakers mirroring the colonial and sectarian nature of the state. However, in the twenty-six county state this link can also be observed, albeit in a more subtle form. Capitalism in the twenty-six counties developed within a colonial model, with the interests of English-speaking capitalists picking up where explicit colonial policy left off. While government parties make performative gestures supporting the language, actual policy rarely goes beyond the ceremonial. The English language is still viewed as the valuable “default”, with Mac Síomóin noting that Irish speakers are seen as “as cranks, second-class citizens and just a plain bloody nuisance”.[8] To quote Alan Titley, the twenty-six county state takes an approach of “commission a report, mull over it, make pleasant positive noises, do a bit, procrastinate, encourage encouraging, find reasons to do little, say more nice things, commission another report and so it goes”.[9] Attempts at genuine revival are firmly off the table as they would necessitate a break from the values instilled by imperialism - a break that would threaten the twenty-six county state’s position within global capitalism. To value a minority language is to see beyond the profit motive, something neither state wants us to do.
Ach cé a chloisfidh mé?
For socialists to understand the struggle for Irish language revival, we must assess the crisis being faced by the Gaeltacht. In the starkest of terms, continued survival of the language is impossible without native speakers. The loss of communities that speak Irish on a daily basis accelerates its ultimate decline. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have attempted to downplay the crisis facing the Gaeltacht by focusing attention on the education system and second-language learners, masking the actual state of the language. We must fight for the preservation and continued existence of Gaeltacht communities as there cannot be a genuine revival without them.
The state of crisis facing the Gaeltacht made clear following the publication of a study from Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta last year that demonstrated that only 23% of parents in the Gaeltacht are raising their children through Irish.[10] The study reflects a wider trend of language shift, with the pressures of neoliberal capitalism rapidly smothering what remains of the Gaeltacht. In an article responding to this study for Nós, Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh outlined the extent of this crisis. "Níl aon duine i dTeach Laighean a bhreathnaíonn orainn mar phobal beo. Níl aon duine taobh amuigh de na meáin Ghaeilge ag insint do dhaoine céard atá ag tarlú ach oiread [...] Mothaím cosúil le The Scream, ealaín Edvard Munch. Ach cé a chloisfidh mé?" ("There’s nobody in Leinster House that looks at us as a living community. [...] There’s nobody outside the Irish-language media that’s telling people what's happening either. I feel like The Scream, Edvard Munch's art. But who will hear me?").[11]
A central aspect of the Gaeltacht’s rapid decline is the question of housing. As Gaeltacht families are unable to live in their own communities, they are pressured into emigrating. This isn’t to say that housing isn’t available - but instead that providing it would be unprofitable. In an article for Mionlach, periodical of the Irish language socialist organisation Misneach, Pádraig Mac Oscair outlined the extent to which holiday homes and Airbnb rentals have cannibalised the Gaeltacht’s housing stock, noting that 219 holiday homes were available in the Kerry Gaeltacht, but only three homes were available to rent. According to Mac Oscair, landlords can make more money renting to tourists in the summer than renting to the local community - leaving their houses empty in the winter.[12] Relate this to the high rates of housing vacancy, and you have a situation where the profit motive is prioritised over the continued existence of the language, pushing native speakers away.
Another area where the interests of Irish and capital clash is austerity, with the twenty-six county state showing how shallow their commitment to the language is by letting it die by a death of a thousand cuts. Last year Ben Ó Ceallaigh released a paper for Comhar Taighde on this topic, observing the impact of austerity on the Irish language. He observed that austerity measures disproportionately targeted the Gaeltacht - with a 38% cut being pushed for the Department of Community, Equality, and Gaeltacht Affairs (the largest cut suggested) and a 58% internal cut on Gaeltacht spending.[13] Ó Ceallaigh argues that these shifts show the structural nature of the Gaeltacht’s decline, stating that activists need to go beyond viewing attacks as the result of individual politicians, but as something structural and central to the operation of the state.[14] The minimal supports available for Irish get cut the second things hit the fan, outlining the need for a break from capitalism if we want true revival.
Ná hAbair é, déan é!
An Dream Dearg’s recent actions tie in with a wider history of struggle amongst Irish speakers - with these struggles bringing about every advance won for the language in recent history. If members of Gluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta didn’t set up a pirate radio station, we wouldn’t have Raidió na Gaeltachta today. Similarly, a campaign for non-payment of the TV licence helped pave the path for TG4. A particularly inspirational example of this is the Shaw’s Road Gaeltacht, with a community of Irish-speakers building their own houses from the ground up in order to raise their children through the language. These self-organised attempts to organise around and against the state work, with Ciarán Dunbar observing that the Shaw's Road Gaeltacht was “ceann de buanna is suntasaí maidir le hathbheochan na Gaeilge san Iar-Ghaeltacht – riamh” ("one of the most notable victories in terms of Irish revival in the post-Gaeltacht - ever").[15] If we are to go about language revival, there is a need to draw inspiration from this history of struggle and to take up the Shaw’s Road mantra of "ná habair é, déan é" ("don't say it, do it").
To build towards language revival we need to be ready to struggle - with a grassroots fight necessary against language shift, the crisis facing the Gaeltacht, and further austerity-induced cuts. Within The Broken Harp, Mac Síomóin outlines a possible form this struggle could take, arguing for a “short‐term strategy to mobilise, within 10‐15 years, the small national minority that is favourably disposed towards Irish and is willing to work for its survival into a dedicated nucleus of fluent Irish speakers organised in a series of networks, or circles, of 6‐20 members each, say, all linked loosely to a common administrative core”.[16] In turn, these networks would constitute a radical, self-organised minority of Irish speakers willing to struggle for the language.[17] This is a fight worth taking up, and one the left must take seriously.
Organising for language revival often feels like hitting your head against the brick wall of capitalism’s limits - with a break from the profit motive necessary to tackle underlying causes of decline. It is imperative that socialists understand and involve ourselves in these struggles, showing how our tactics work through practice as opposed to shouting from the sidelines. We need to view the language question as a continuous issue as opposed to a cultural side-project, tying revival into our wider goal for a break from capitalism and imperialism. At our last AGM, People Before Profit took an important step towards this aim, voting to form a Gaeilge Caucus. Tying into this, RISE voted to include the need to “stem the long-term social and economic decline of neglected rural communities, and the decline of Irish in Gaeltacht areas” in our What We Stand For document.[18] However, if we are to walk this long journey we must be willing to listen, learn, and take action. To quote Máirtín Ó Cadhain, “‘sí an Ghaeilge Athghabháil na hÉireann agus is í Athghabháil na hÉireann slánú na Gaeilge” (“the reconquest of Irish is the reconquest of Ireland and the reconquest of Ireland is the salvation of Irish”).[19]
Notes
1. Ó Tiarnaigh, P. (2022) ‘An bóthar fada dearg’, Comhar. Available at: https://comhar.ie/iris/82/6/an-bothar-fada-dearg/ (Accessed: 21 July 2022).
2. Burns, E. (2021) ‘Muted: Capital and the Global Language Shift’, Rupture. Available at: https://rupture.ie/articles/muted-capital-and-the-global-language-shift (Accessed: 21 July 2022).
3. Ibid.
4. Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo. (1986) Decolonising the mind: the politics of language in African literature. London: Currey.
5. Ibid.
6. Mac Síomóin, T. (2020) The Gael becomes Irish: an unfinished Odyssey. Nuascéalta.
7. Mac Síomóin, T. (2014) The broken harp: identity and language in modern Ireland. Nuascéalta.
8. Ibid.
9. Titley, A., ‘Paying lip service to the Irish language: This book examines State’s Irish-language policies or the lack thereof on education, Gaeltacht, law and broadcasting’, Irish Times, 30 July 2022.
10. ‘Géarchéim – 23% de theaghlaigh sa Ghaeltacht ag tógáil a gclann le Gaeilge’ (2021) Tuairisc.ie. Available at: https://tuairisc.ie/gearcheim-23-de-theaghlaigh-sa-ghaeltacht-ag-togail-a-gclann-le-gaeilge/ (Accessed: 21 July 2022).
11. Ní Cheallaigh, M.T. (2022) ‘“Níl aon duine i dTeach Laighean a bhreathnaíonn orainn mar phobal beo” – Géarchéim na Gaeltachta’, NÓS. Available at: https://nos.ie/saol/nil-aon-duine-i-dteach-laighean-a-bhreathnaionn-orainn-mar-phobal-beo-gearcheim-na-gaeltachta/ (Accessed: 21 July 2022).
12. Mac Oscair, P. (2021) ‘Saoire sa bhaile agus géarchéim tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht’, Mionlach.
13. Ó Ceallaigh, B. (2021) ‘Breithiúnas an Bhoird Snip Nua agus Toil an Troika: Polasaí Gaeilge i bPoblacht na hÉireann, 2008–2018’, COMHAR Taighde [Preprint], (7). Available at: https://doi.org/10.18669/ct.2021.05.
14. Ibid.
15. Dunbar, C. (2021) Síolta – Pobail Ghaeilge úra agus na daoine a thóg iad. Coiscéim.
16. Mac Síomóin, T. (2014) The broken harp: identity and language in modern Ireland. Nuascéalta.
17. Ibid.
18. RISE, ‘What we stand for’, https://www.letusrise.ie/what-we-stand-for (Accessed: 21 August 2022).
19. Ó Cathasaigh, A. (2002) Ag samhlú troda : Máirtín Ó Cadhain, 1905-1970. Baile Átha Cliath: Coiscéim.