Irish language signs on Inisheer Island

In the shops and pubs on Inisheer, you can see and hear "Irish", the dialect of Gaelic particular to Ireland.

The Celtic people arrived in Ireland with their Gaelic language around 500 BC. However, the Gaelic now spoken in Ireland has drifted from that spoken in other Celtic regions in Europe, and so it is now known as "Irish".

This difference might be due to the fact that Ireland wasn't conquered by the Romans and their Latin lanugage, compared to other Celtic regions. (On the other hand, it became a solid follower of the Latin-based Roman Catholic Church.)

The pronunciation of words in Irish is often quite different from what one might expect. For example, if you wanted to say Hello in Irish, you would say Dia duit -- but it is actually prounounced "dee-a gwith". (It literally translates to "God go with you.")

There are still some rural regions - "Gaeltachts" - where people talk primarily in Irish. Only about a quarter of the population can speak the language to any degree. During English rule Irish was supressed, and many of the people who immigrated from Ireland came from Irish speaking regions.

When independence was won in the 1920s, the new government declared Irish the official language. All government publications and most signs are made in both English and Irish, and television spots teaching and encouraging Irish phrases are often aired.

However, don't worry about needing a phrase book - English is the language used in Ireland, whereas Irish is maintained for purposes of culture.