40% of the population of Ireland (1.8 million) has some knowledge of the Irish language whereas 100 years ago only 18% spoke the language. The use of the language has also increased by 71% since 1991. Few speak Irish on a daily basis, and even fewer use it as a main language.
The revival is due to a large extent to pop culture, to bands such as Kneecap that sing in Irish, to actors such as Cillian Murphy and Paul Mescal who speak Irish publicly.
UNESCO had characterized Irish as an endangered language in 2021, that is a language which is at risk in the future to cease to be used.
It is due, of course, also to political initiatives. Catherine Connolly, president of Ireland since November 2025, stated that she will promote Irish beyond the typical uses, so that it becomes the official working language of the presidential office.
At the same time, the goal of the government is that 20% of recruitments in the public sector concern Irish speakers by 2030.
Irish became a fully official and working language of the European Union in 2022, while in Northern Ireland, the abolition of a ban of 300 years in 2025 now allows the use of the language in the courts. In the same region, in fact, which remains part of Great Britain, Irish has surpassed French as the second most popular language (beyond English which is the official language), after Spanish.
Source: The Economist
