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There exist only a few Irish words in common use.... |
In 2007 Europe declared Irish an official language. That year also the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in Ireland estimated that there were 44,000 speakers.
This figure amounts to only 1% of the population — and it is based only upon an estimation of the number of people who live within the Gaeltacht areas.
Irish is a required subject in public schools so there is a rudimentary level of knowledge within the culture. There are Irish-language radio programs and a television station that shows good Irish-language documentaries. The Irish is subtititled with English but the English is not subtitled with Irish.
The newspapers tend to feature at least one article written in the old language.