:: wikimiki.org ::

Derry

Derry

:For other places with similar names, see Derry (disambiguation) and Londonderry (disambiguation). Derry or Londonderry (in Irish, Doire or Doire Cholm Chille), often called the Maiden City, is a city in Northern Ireland. The old walled city of Londonderry lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, but the city now covers both banks and is connected by two bridges. The district extends to rural areas to the southeast of the city. Derry is near the border with the Republic of Ireland, and serves much of western Ulster, including Donegal, as well as the west of County Londonderry. It is Northern Ireland's second largest city and the fourth largest urban centre in Ireland as a whole. The district is run by Derry City Council and has an airport, City of Derry Airport. City of Derry Airport __TOC__

Name

The city and county are both officially named Londonderry according to the city's Royal Charter and usually appear as such on maps[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Ireland&ll=54.995835,-7.307453&spn=0.169881,0.656227&hl=en]. The name was changed from Derry in 1613 during the Plantation of Ulster to reflect the rebuilding of the city by the London guilds. However, many people today refer to the city by the name Derry. For some, this naming dispute is a contentious issue (see Derry/Londonderry name dispute). The name Derry is primarily used by nationalists in Northern Ireland, with unionists preferring Londonderry. Among the city's inhabitants, most nationalists and some unionists use "Derry". In the Republic of Ireland, the city and county are still referred to as Derry. In official use the city is always known as Londonderry [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4477218.stm], although some local organizations name themselves after Derry - for example, [http://www.cityofderryairport.com/ City of Derry Airport] and [http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/ Derry City Council]. The city is also nicknamed the Maiden City by virtue of the fact that its walls were never penetrated during the siege of Derry in the late 17th century.

History

:Main article: History of Derry History of Derry History of Derry Derry is one of the longest continuously inhabited places in Ireland. The earliest historical references date to the sixth century A.D. when a monastery was founded there by St. Columba, but for thousands of years before that people had been living in the vicinity. Colonists organised by London livery companies through The Honourable The Irish Society arrived in the 1600s as part of the plantation of Ulster, and built the walled city of Londonderry across the Foyle from the earlier town. The city has long been a focal point for important events in Irish history, including the 1688-1689 siege of Derry and Bloody Sunday on 30 January 1972. Londonderry was the first ever planned city in Ireland: it was begun in 1613, with the walls being completed 5 years later in 1618. The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. The grid pattern chosen was subsequently much copied in the colonies of British North America [http://worldfacts.us/UK-Londonderry.htm]. The siege of Derry is commemorated annually by the fraternal organisation the Apprentice Boys of Derry in the week long Maiden City Festival. The modern city preserves the 17th-century layout of four main streets radiating from the Diamond to four gateways - Bishop's Gate, Ferryquay Gate, Shipquay Gate and Butcher's Gate. Historic buildings within the walls include the 1633 Gothic cathedral of St Columb. In the porch is an inscription:

'If stones could speake then London's prayse should sound Who built this church and cittie from the grounde.'

Economy

The economy of Derry was based significantly on the textile industry until relatively recently. For many years women were the sole wage earners working in the shirt factories while the men predominantly in comparison had high levels of unemployment [http://www.recirca.com/backissues/c95/dwc.shtml]. This led to significant male emigration [http://www.bloodysundaytrust.org/eduhistory.htm]. In more recent times the textile industry jobs have increasingly moved to the far east, leaving Derry to bear an increased jobless total. The history of shirt making in Derry dates back as far as 1831 and is said to have been [http://www.geocities.com/historyofshirtmakinginderry/shirtmakinginderry.htm started] by William Scott and his family who first exported shirts to Glasgow. Within 50 years, shirt making in the city was the most prolific in the UK with garments being exported all over the world. In fact it was known so well that the industry even received a mention in Das Kapital by Karl Marx when discussing the factory system:

The shirt factory of Messrs. Tille at Londonderry, which employs 1000 operatives in the factory itself, and 9000 people spread up and down the country and working in their own houses. [http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Marx/mrxCpAtoc.html see Part IV, Chapter XV] (first published in 1867)

A long term foreign employer in the area is the Du Pont, who have been based at Maydown since 1958, this was its [http://heritage.dupont.com/touchpoints/tp_1958/depth.shtml first] ever European production facility. Originally Neoprene was manufatured at Maydown and susequently followed by Hypalon. More recently Lycra and Kevlar® production units were active [http://www.nics.gov.uk/irtu/research/synthetic-4.html]. Thanks to a healthy world-wide demand for Kevlar which is made at the plant, the faclity recently undertook a £40 million upgrade to expand its global Kevlar production. Du pont have stated that contributing factors to their continued committment to Maydown are: "low labor costs, excellent communications, and tariff-free, easy access to the U.K. mainland and European continent." Kevlar In the last 15 years there has been a drive to increase inward investment in the town, more recently concentrating on digital industries. Currently the three largest private-sector employers are American firms [http://www.state.gov/s/p/rem/13319.htm]. Even though Derry provides cheap labour by standards in the West, [http://www.marxist.net/ireland/beyondframe.htm?ch8.htm critics] have noted that the grants offered by the Northern Ireland Industrial Development Board have helped land jobs for the area that will only last as long as the funding lasts. This was reflected by 1990 questions to The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Richard Needham) [http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm198990/cmhansrd/1990-03-01/Orals-1.html Column 372 & 373]. It was noted that it cost £30,000 to create one job in an American firm in the north of Ireland. Successes have included call centres and a large investment by Seagate who have operated a factory in the Springtown Industrial Estate in Derry since 1993, they currently sponsor the city film festival, but more significantly they employ over 1000 people in the Springtown premises which produces more than half of Seagate's total requirement for hard drive read-write heads. A success for the IDB (for Northern Ireland) was Stream International, who opened an outsourced technology call centre operation in the IDB's Ulster Science & Technology Park in Derry in January 1995, it is now the third largest employer in Derry [http://www.stream.com/ourcompany/sites/emea_londonderry.asp]. A recent but controversial new employer in the area is Raytheon, Raytheon Systems Limited, was established in 1999, in the Ulster Science & Technology Park, Buncrana Road [http://www.raytheon.co.uk/about/londonderry.html]. Although local people welcomed the jobs boost many in the area object to the jobs being provided by a firm involved heavily in the arms trade [http://www.raytheon.co.uk/about/londonderry.html]. The most significant employers in the region are: Foreign:
- DuPont (US)
- Stream International (US)
- Seagate Technology (US)
- Perfecseal, Bemis (US)
- NTL (US)
- Arntz Belting (Germany)
- Raytheon (US)
- Northbrook Technologies (US)
- Invision Software (Germany) Local:
- Desmonds - Northern Ireland’s largest privately owned company. (International garment manufacturing and sourcing)
- E&I Engineering
- St. Brendan’s Irish Cream Liqueur Ltd
- Singularity (software products and services) [http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/economicdevelopment/downloads/1709M%20DERRY%20BOOK.pdf Source] (pdf) St. Brendan’s Irish Cream Liqueur Ltd Londonderry Port at Lisahally is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port and has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels. In spite of Derry being the second city of Northern Ireland road and rail links to other cities are below par for its standing. Many business leaders claim that government investment in the city and infrastructure has been badly lacking. Some have stated that this is due to its outlaying border location whilst others have cited a sectarian bias against the west of the province due to its high proportion of Catholics [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/derry/bac.htm] [http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/history/events/conflict/bttc4.shtm]. In any event, there is no motorway link with Belfast or Dublin. Additionally the rail link to Belfast has been downgraded over the years so that presently it is not a viable alternative to the roads for industry to rely on. Mr Garvan O'Doherty, local business man and board member of the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commision, stated in the Irish Times, October 2005:

"It is vital that road, rail and air links are all maximised with particular emphasis on the two principal road axes - connections to Belfast and Dublin."

Much has been made of the City of Derry airport. However it should be noted that the citizens of Derry themselves directly subsidise its running from local council tax coffers. Critics of investment decisions affecting Derry often point to the decision to build a new university building in nearby Coleraine rather than developing the University of Ulster campus that already existed in Derry - Magee. Another major government decision affecting Derry was the decision to create the new city of Craigavon outside Belfast, which again was detrimental to the development of Derry. Even in October 2005, there is perceived bias against Derry with a major civil service job contract going to Belfast rather than the comparitvely impoverished North West of the province. Mark Durkan, the SDLP leader and MP for Foyle was quoted in the Belfast Telegraph as saying:

"The fact is there has been consistent under-investment in the North West and a reluctance on the part of the Civil Service to see or support anything west of the Bann, except when it comes to rate increases, then they treat us equally." [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northwest_edition/story.jsp?story=666639]

Many observers note that politics will need to play a part in the future development of the economy of Derry. Whether it is a future devolved Northern Ireland government or the British or Irish or European parliaments that will provide the impetus it is clear that cross border digital and physical infrastructure improvements are needed. In July 2005, the Irish Minister for Finance, Brian Cowan called for a joint task force to drive economic growth in the cross border region. This would have implications for Derry, Tyrone and Donegal across the border. Given the afforability of housing in the city, the student population has boomed in recent years bringing a revival in the fortunes of Magee, the oldest campus within the University of Ulster established in 1865 as Magee College. 1865 Tourism is set to be central to the future economic success of Derry. There are many museums and sites of interest in and around the region. Future projects include the Walled City Signature Project, which intends to ensure that the city's walls become a world class tourist experience [http://www.nitb.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=809]. Other existing attractions are:
- Amelia Earhart Centre And Wildlife Sanctuary
- Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall
- Bogside Murals
- Grianan of Ailech (Royal seat of the Ui Neill family for 700 years [http://www.megalithomania.com/show/site/1465])
- Harbour Museum
- Museum of Free Derry [http://www.museumoffreederry.org/ Online]
- Springhill House And Costume Collection
- St. Columb's Cathedral and Chapter House Museum
- Tower Museum
- Workhouse Museum Bogside The now world famous Halloween celebrations in Derry also prove a huge tourism boost for the city, the carnival is promoted as being the first and longest running Halloween carnival in the whole of Ireland [http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/halloween/], [http://aspen.conncoll.edu/politicsandculture/page.cfm?key=448]. It actually is the largest street party in Ireland [http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishpost/Travel/ireland-home-halloween-051012.asp].

In song

Famous People from Derry

Bogside
- Seamus Ball - Actor
- Amanda Burton - (Born in Ballougry, County Londonderry) Actress. Best known for her role as forensic pathologist Doctor (later Professor) "Sam Ryan" in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness.
- Joyce Cary - Author. Two of his novels were made into films: The Horse's Mouth (1958) starring Sir. Alec Guinness and Mister Johnson (1990)
- Phil Coulter - Songwriter. Wrote The Town I Love So Well (See Above)
- Nadine Coyle - One of the five singers that complete the all-girl pop group Girls Aloud.
- Peter Cunnah Born 1966. Lead singer with 1990's pop outfit D-ream.
- Dana - In 1970 represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest, later became a politician.
- Seamus Deane - Writer
- Richard Doherty - Catholic Unionist/RUC reservist, writer, military historian
- Roma Downey - Actress. Best known for her role as Monica, the main character of the religious TV series Touched by an Angel
- Mark Durkan - MP for Foyle (the Derry area)
- George Farquhar - Restoration dramatist.
- Bronagh Gallagher - Actress/singer. Films include Pulp Fiction and The Commitments.
- Neil Hannon - Lead singer of The Divine Comedy.
- Seamus Heaney - Poet, writer and lecturer. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, he is one of the most widely known and important poets working in English, or perhaps any language, today.
- John Hume - Nobel Peace Prize-winning former leader of the SDLP.
- John Lawrence - soldier and administrator in 19th century India and Viceroy of India
- Josef Locke - Tenor singer, popular in the 1940s and 1950s.
- John Fullerton - Local Personality
- Martin McGuinness - Sinn Féin MP for Mid Ulster, formerly a senior member of the Provisional IRA.
- Charlie Nash - Boxer. Former European and British lightweight champion.
- Feargal Sharkey - Lead singer of The Undertones and current chairman of the Live Music Forum.
- Willie Doherty - Visual Artist. Twice nominated for the Turner Prize.
- Martin O'Neill - Former manager of Celtic Football Club; from Kilrea.

External links

Celtic Football Club
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=55.161667,-7.253036&spn=0.465099,0.617088&t=k&hl=en Google satellite view of Derry, the Foyle and the Swilly]
- [http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/ Derry City Council]
- [http://www.derryvisitor.com/derry/index.asp Derry Visitor Information]
- [http://www.cityofderryairport.com/ City of Derry Airport]
- [http://www.derrycityfc.net/ Derry City FC]
- [http://derry.gaa.ie/ Derry G.A.A.]
- [http://www.cityofderryrfc.fsnet.co.uk/ City of Derry Rugby]
- [http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/londonderry-port.htm Londonderry Port]
- [http://www.loughswillyyc.com/ Lough Swilly Yacht Club]
- [http://www.derryunderbelly.com/ Derry Community Forum]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/radiofoyle/ BBC Radio Foyle] (Local Radio Station)
- [http://www.businessinformationpoint.com/docs/SE%20Profile%20VOSS.pdf A Socio-Economic Profile of the Derry City Council Area] (pdf) Category:Cities in Ireland Derry/Londonderry Category:Derry Category:Ports and harbours of Ireland

Derry (disambiguation)

Derry is the name of several places:
- In Northern Ireland of the United Kingdom:
- The city of Derry, or Londonderry
- County Derry, or County Londonderry
- In the Republic of Ireland
- River Derry and Derry Water River in County Wicklow
- Derry, County Sligo
- In the United States:
- Derry, New Hampshire, a town
- Derry, Pennsylvania, a borough Derry may also be:
- Derry, Maine, a fictional town used by Stephen King as the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. Similar place names include Derry Township.

Irish language

Irish (Gaeilge), a Goidelic language spoken in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, is constitutionally recognized as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland. On 13 June, 2005, EU foreign ministers unanimously decided to make Irish an official working language of the European Union. The new arrangements will come into effect on January 1, 2007. According to statistics released by the Government of Ireland in 2004, there are 1,570,894 speakers of Irish in the Republic. Of these, 339,541 use Irish every day, 155,039 weekly, 585,300 less often, 459,657 never, and 31,357 didn't state how often. However, these statistics are often disputed by Irish language activists and their opponents. 65,000 people has been quoted as the amount of people in the Gaeltacht who use the language as their first, daily language¹. Other data states that 167,487 can speak Irish in Northern Ireland and 25,870 in the United States. For Irish English, see Hiberno-English.

Names of the language

In English

The language is sometimes referred to in English as Gaelic (IPA: ), or Irish Gaelic. This has generally been the common name for the language in the Irish diaspora. Within Ireland proper, it has inevitably acquired political significance. Referring to the language as "Gaelic" suggests that the language is as distant and unrelated to modern Irish life as the civilization of the ancient Gaels. Calling it Irish, on the other hand, indicates that it is and should be the proper national language of the Irish people, and this is the generally accepted term among scholars and in the Irish Constitution. Use of the term Irish also avoids confusion with Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), the closely related language spoken in Scotland and often referred to in English as simply Gaelic (IPA: or ). The archaic term Erse, originally a Scots form of the word Irish, is no longer used and in most contexts is also considered derogatory.

In Irish

In the Caighdeán Oifigiúil (the official written standard) the name of the language is Gaeilge, which reflects the southern Connacht pronunciation . Before the spelling reform of 1948, this form was spelled Gaedhilge; originally this was the genitive of Gaedhealg, the form used in classical Modern Irish. Older spellings of this include Gaoidhealg in Middle Irish and Goídelc in Old Irish. Other forms of the name found in the various modern Irish dialects, in addition to south Connacht Gaeilge mentioned above, include Gaedhilic/Gaeilic/Gaeilig (pronounced ) in County Donegal and parts of County Mayo, Gaedhealaing/Gaoluinn/Gaelainn (pronounced ) in Munster, and Gaedhlag (pronounced ) in Omeath, County Louth.

Official status

Irish is given recognition by the Constitution of Ireland as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland (with English being a second official language), despite the limited distribution of fluency among the population of that country. Since the State was founded in the 1920s as the Irish Free State (see also History of the Republic of Ireland), the Irish Government required a degree of proficiency in Irish for all civil service positions (including postal workers, tax officials, agricultural inspectors, etc.), as well as for employees of state companies (e.g. Aer Lingus, RTE, ESB, etc). Proficiency in Irish for entrance to the public service ceased to be a compulsory requirement in 1974, in part through the actions of protest organizations like the Language Freedom Movement. While the requirement was also dropped for wider public service jobs, such as teaching, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools within the Republic which receive public money (see also Education in the Republic of Ireland). The need for a pass in Leaving Certificate Irish for entry to the Gardaí (police) was dropped in September 2005, although applicants are given lessons in the language during the two years of training. Most official documents of the Irish Government are published in both Irish and English. The National University of Ireland, Galway is required to appoint a person who is competent in the Irish language, as long as they meet all other respects of the vacancy they are appointed to. This requirement is laid down by the [http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA35Y1929S3.html University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3)] and recently was subject of a High Court case on the matter[http://www.galwayindependent.com/news/3905.html] - it is expected that the requirement may be repealed in due course[http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?maincat=10861&pcategory=10861&ecategory=10876§ionpage=13637&language=EN&link=link001&page=1&doc=29800]. As a treaty language of the European Union, the highest-level documents of the EU are translated into Irish; in addition, the language has also recently received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, under the Good Friday Agreement. Furthermore, Irish will become an official working language of the European Union beginning January 1, 2007.

The Gaeltacht

There are pockets of Ireland where Irish is spoken as a traditional, native language. These regions are known as the Gaeltacht. These are in County Galway (Contae na Gaillimhe), including Connemara (Conamara) and the Aran Islands (na hOileáin Árann); on the west coast of County Donegal (Contae Dhún na nGall; in the part which is known as Tyrconnell/Tír Chonaill); and Corca Dhuibhne on the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry (Contae Chiarraí). Smaller ones also exist in Mayo (Contae Mhaigh Eo), Meath (Contae na Mí), Waterford (Contae Phort Láirge), and Cork (Contae Chorcaí). However, even within the Gaeltacht areas, the Irish-speaking populations have declined since the Gaeltacht boundaries were drawn up. The numerically and socially strongest Gaeltacht areas are those of Conamara and Tír Chonaill, in which a significant proportion of residents use Irish as a community language and in which children often speak the language among each other. The highest concentrations of Irish speakers are found in Ros Muc, Connemara, and around Bloody Foreland (Cnoc na Fola) in Tír Chonaill.

Dialects

See main article Irish dialects. There are a number of distinct dialects of Irish. Roughly speaking, the three major dialect areas coincide with the provinces of Munster (Cúige Mumhan), Connacht (Cúige Chonnacht) and Ulster (Cúige Uladh).

Munster dialects

Munster Irish is spoken in the Gaeltachtaí of Kerry (Contae Chiarraí), Muskerry (Múscraí), Cape Clear (Oileán Cléire) in the western part of County Cork (Contae Chorcaí), and the tiny pocket of Irish-speakers in An Rinn near Dungarvan (Dún Garbháin) in County Waterford (Contae Phort Láirge). The most important subdivision in Munster is that between Decies Irish (spoken in Waterford) and the rest of Munster Irish. Some typical features of Munster Irish are: # The use of personal endings instead of pronouns with verbs, thus "I must" is in Munster caithfead, while other dialects prefer caithfidh mé (mé means "I"). "I was and you were" is Bhíos agus bhís in Munster but Bhí mé agus bhí tú in other dialects. # In front of nasals and "ll" some short vowels are lengthened while other are diphthongised. # A copula-construction involving is ea is frequently used.

Connacht dialects

The strongest dialect of Connacht Irish is to be found in Connemara and the Aran Islands. In some regards this dialect is quite different from general Connacht Irish but since most Connacht dialects have died out during the last century Connemara Irish is sometimes seen as Connacht Irish. Much closer to the traditional Connacht Irish is the very threatened dialect spoken in the region on the border between Galway (Gaillimh) and Mayo (Maigh Eo). The Irish of Tourmakeady (Tuar Mhic Éadaigh) in southern Mayo (Maigh Eo Theas) and Joyce Country (Dúthaigh Sheoige) are considered the living Irish dialects closest to Middle Irish. Also, the northern Mayo dialect of Erris (Iorras) and Achill (Acaill) is in grammar and word-building essentially a Connacht dialect; but shows an affinity in vocabulary with Ulster Irish, due to large-scale immigration of dispossessed people following the Plantation of Ulster. Connemara Irish is very popular with learners, thanks to Mícheál Ó Siadhail's self-teaching textbook Learning Irish. However, there are features in Connemara Irish outside the official standard—notably the preference for verbal nouns ending in -achan, such as lagachan instead of lagú, "weakening". The non-standard pronunciation with lengthened vowels and heavily reduced endings give Connemara Irish its distinct sound.

Ulster dialects

The most important of the Ulster dialects today is that of the Rosses (na Rosa), which has been used extensively in literature by such authors as the brothers Séamus Ó Grianna and Seosamh Mac Grianna, locally known as Jimí Fheilimí and Joe Fheilimí. This dialect is essentially the same as that in Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair= Inlet of Streaming Water), the same dialect used by native speaker Enya (Eithne) and her siblings in Clannad (Clann as Dobhar = Family from the Water). Ulster Irish sounds very different and shares several unusual features with Scottish Gaelic, as well as having lots of characteristic words and shades of meanings. However, since the demise of those Irish dialects spoken natively in what is today Northern Ireland, it is probably an exaggeration to see Ulster Irish as an intermediary form between Scottish Gaelic and the southern and western dialects of Irish. Indeed, Scottish Gaelic does have lots of non-Ulster features in common with Munster Irish, too. One noticeable trait of Ulster Irish is the use of the negative participle cha(n), in place of the Munster and Connaught version ní. Even in Ulster, cha(n), most typical of Scottish Gaelic, has ousted the more common ní only in easternmost dialects (including the now defunct ones once spoken in what is now Northern Ireland). The practice seems to be that cha(n) is most usually used when answering to a statement, either confirming a negative statement (Níl aon mhaith ann - Chan fhuil, leoga = "It is no good" - "Indeed it isn't") or contesting an affirmative one (Tá sé go maith - Chan fhuil! = "It is good" - "No, it isn't!"), while ní is preferred in answering a question (An bhfuil aon mhaith ann? - Níl = "Is it any good?" - "No").

Other regions

The extant dialects of Irish native to Leinster, the fourth province of Ireland, became extinct during the 20th century, but records of some of these were made by the Irish Folklore Commission among other bodies prior to this. The present-day Irish of Meath (in Leinster) is a special case. It belongs to the Connemara dialect, as the Irish-speaking community in Meath is simply a group of mostly Connemara speakers who moved there in the 1930s, after a land reform campaign spearheaded by Máirtín Ó Cadhain (subsequently one of the greatest modernist writers in the language). In areas outside the traditional Gaeltacht, where standard Irish was learnt in schools, this has become the "dialect" of leaners of the language. What has been called "Dublin Irish" or "Gaelscoil Irish" has also arisen, that is Irish poorly learnt and heavily influenced by English. English idioms are translated directly, e.g. "Tabhair suas" for Give up when the verb "Lig" should be used. English grammar is sometimes used straight when not applicaple to Irish. Often, when the speaker doesn't know a word, the English will be substituted, sometimes with "áil" affixed. "áil" is generally an ending for the verbal noun of a verb, but when added to an english word, this becomes the stem, e.g. vótáil. Many "Béarlachas"(false Irish based on English) words and phrases are used, e.g. pioc, sórt, saghas, féar plé etc. Also, typical interjection words often used in English and especially English influenced by America are used, e.g. like, man, so, etc. are used un-translated in Irish.

Comparisons

The differences between dialects are considerable, and have led to recurrent difficulties in defining standard Irish. Even everyday phrases can show startling dialectal variation: the standard example is "How are you?":
- Ulster: cad é mar atá tú? ("what is it as you are?" Note: caidé or goidé and sometimes dé are alternative renderings of cad é)
- Connacht: cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? ("what way [is it] that you are?")
- Munster: conas taoí? ("how are you?") In recent times, however, contacts between speakers of different dialects have become more common, and mixed dialects have originated. Nevertheless, many dialect speakers (especially Ulster) are still jealously trying to guard their own variety against influences from other dialects. Among non-native speakers, this can be seen as a quest for authenticity. Regional accents are commonly taught to non-natives and imitated: an urban non-native speaker of Irish in Cork City (Cathair Chorcaí) is very probably trying to emulate Coolea or Kerry dialect; one from Belfast (Béal Feirste) tends to speak an Irish modelled on the Rosses dialect of Donegal; and Galwegian Irish-speakers, living next door to Connemara, will do their best to sound like a Connemara native.

Shelta

There also exists a cant called Shelta, based partly on English and partly Irish, in use by the Irish Travellers.

Linguistic Structure

The features most unfamiliar to English speakers of the language are the orthography, the initial consonant mutations, the Verb Subject Object word order, and the use of two different forms for "to be". However, initial mutations are found in other Celtic languages as well as in some Italian and Sardinian dialects, as an independent development. They are also found in some West African languages.

Syntax

See main article Irish syntax One aspect of Irish syntax that is unfamiliar to speakers of other languages is the use of the copula (known in Irish as an chopail). The copula is used to describe what or who someone is, as opposed to how and where. This has been likened to the difference between the verbs ser and estar in Spanish and Portuguese, although this is only a rough approximation. The copula, which in the present tense is is, is usually demonstrative: :Is fear é. "It is a man." :Is Sasanaigh iad. "They're English." When saying "this is", or "that is", seo and sin are used: :Seo í mo mháthair. "This is my mother." :Sin é an muinteoir. "That's the teacher." One can also add "that is in him/her/it", especially when using an adjective, when it is desired to emphasise the quality: :Is fear láidir atá ann. "He's a strong man." :(Literally: "It is a strong man that is in him.") :Is cailín álainn atá inti. "She's a beautiful girl." :(Literally: "It is a beautiful girl that is in her.") This sometimes appears in Hiberno-English, either translated literally as "that is in it", or as "so it is".

Morphology

See main articles Irish morphology, Irish nominals, and Irish verbs. Another feature of Irish grammar that is shared with other Celtic languages is the use of prepositional pronouns (forainmneacha réamhfhoclacha), which are essentially conjugated prepositions. For example, the word for "at" is ag, which in the first person singular becomes agam "at me". When used with the verb bí ("to be") ag indicates possession; this is the equivalent of the English verb "to have". (Literally, "is a book at me")

Tá leabhar agam.	"I have a book."
Tá deoch agat.	"You have a drink."
Tá ríomhaire aige.	"He has a computer."
Tá páiste aici.	"She has a child."
Tá carr againn.	"We have a car."
Tá teach agaibh.	"You (plural) have a house."
Tá airgead acu.	"They have money."

Compare with Breton: ('Banne' related to the Irish 'bainne' - milk - though semantically drifted) ('Bugel' related to Irish word "buachail" - boy - though semantically drifted)

Ul levr a zo ganin.	"I have a book."
Ur banne a zo ganit.	"You have a drink."
Un urzhiatur a zo ganti.	"He has a computer."
Ur bugel a zo gantañ.	"She has a child."
Ur c'harr a zo ganomp.	"We have a car."
Un ti zo ganeoc'h.	"You (plural) have a house."
Arc'hant a zo ganto.	"They have money."

Orthography and pronunciation

See main articles Irish orthography and Irish phonology. The written language looks rather daunting to those unfamiliar with it. Once understood, the orthography is relatively straightforward. The acute accent, or síneadh fada (´), serves to lengthen the sound of the vowels and in some cases also changes their quality. For example, in Munster Irish (Kerry), a is or and á is in "law" but in Ulster Irish (Donegal), á tends to be . Around the time of World War II, Séamas Daltún, in charge of Rannóg an Aistriúcháin (the official translations department of the Irish government), issued his own guidelines about how to standardise Irish spelling and grammar. This de facto standard was subsequently approved of by the State and called the Official Standard or Caighdeán Oifigiúil. It simplified and standardised the orthography. Many words had silent letters removed and vowel combination brought closer to the spoken language. Where multiple versions existed in different dialects for the same word, one or more were selected. Examples:
- Gaedhealg / Gaedhilg(e) / Gaedhealaing / Gaeilic / Gaelainn / Gaoidhealg / Gaolainn => Gaeilge, "Irish language" (Gaoluinn or Gaolainn is still used in books written in dialect by Munster authors, or as a facetious name for the Munster dialect)
- Lughbhaidh => Lú, "Louth"
- biadh => bia, "food" (The orthography biadh is still used by the speakers of those dialects that show a meaningful and audible difference between biadh - nominative case - and bídh - genitive case: "of food, food's". For example, in Munster Irish the latter ends in an audible -g sound, because final -idh, -igh regularly becomes -ig in Munster pronunciation.) Modern Irish has only one diacritic sign, the acute (á é í ó ú), known in Irish as the síneadh fada 'long mark'; this is frequently referred to, especially by English speakers as simply the fada, using the adjective as a noun. The dot-above diacritic, called a ponc séimhithe or sí buailte (often shortened to buailte), derives from the punctum delens, which was used in medieval manuscripts to indicate deletion, similar to crossing out unwanted words in handwriting today. From this usage it was used to indicate the lenition of s (from /s/ to /h/) and f (from /f/ to zero) in Old Irish texts. Lenition of c, p, and t was indicated by placing the letter h after the affected consonant; lenition of other sounds was left unmarked. Later both methods were extended to be indicators of lenition of any sound except l and n, and two competing systems were used: lenition could be marked by a buailte or by a postposed h. Eventually, use of the buailte predominated when texts were writing using Gaelic letters, while the h predominated when writing using Roman letters. Today Gaelic letters and the buailte are rarely used except where a 'traditional' style is required, e.g. the motto on the University College Dublin coat-of-arms or the symbol of the Irish Defence Forces. Letters with the buailte are available in Unicode and Latin-8 character sets (see Latin Extended Additional chart [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1E00.pdf PDF]).

Mutations

See main article Irish initial mutations In Irish, there are two classes of initial mutations:
- Lenition (in Irish, séimhiú "softening") describes the change of stops into fricatives. Indicated in old orthography by a dot (called a sí buailte) written above the changed consonant, this is now shown by adding an extra -h-:
- caith! "throw!" - chaith mé "I threw" (this is an example of the lenition as a past-tense marker, which is caused by the use of do, although this is now usually omitted)
- margadh "market", "market-place", "bargain" - Tadhg an mhargaidh "the man of the street" (word for word "Timothy of the market-place" (here we see the lenition marking the genitive case of a masculine noun)
- Seán "Seán, John" - a Sheáin! "O John!" (here we see lenition as part of what is called the vocative case - in fact, the vocative lenition is triggered by the a or vocative marker before Sheáin)
- Nasalisation (in Irish, urú "eclipsis") covers the voicing of voiceless stops, as well as the true nasalisation of voiced stops.
- athair "father" - ár nAthair "our Father"
- tús "start", ar dtús "at the start"
- Gaillimh "Galway" - i nGaillimh "in Galway"

History and politics

Stages of the Irish language

The introduction of Irish to Ireland dates from some time after 1200 BC.² The earliest form of the language, Primitive Irish, is found in ogham inscriptions up to about the 4th centuryAD. After the conversion to Christianity, Old Irish begins to appear as glosses in the margins of Latin manuscripts, beginning in the 6th century, until it gives way in the 10th century to Middle Irish. Modern Irish dates from about the 16th century.

The Irish Language Movement

The Irish language was the most widely spoken language on the island of Ireland until the 19th century. The first Bible in Irish was translated by William Bedell, Church of Ireland Bishop of Kilmore, in the 17th century. A combination of the introduction of a primary education system (the 'National Schools'), in which Irish was prohibited and only English taught by order of the British government, and the Great Famine (An Drochshaol) which hit a disportionately high number of Irish language speakers (who lived in the poorer areas heavily hit by famine deaths and emigration), hastened its rapid decline. Irish political leaders, such as Daniel O'Connell (Dónall Ó Conaill), too were critical of the language, seeing it as 'backward', with English the language of the future. Contemporary reports spoke of Irish-speaking parents actively discouraging their children from speaking the language, and encouraging the use of English instead. This practice continued long after independence, as the stigma of speaking Irish remained very strong. Some, however, thought differently. The initial moves to save the language were championed by Irish Protestants, such as the linguist and clergyman William Neilson, in the end of the eighteenth century; the major push occurred with the foundation by Douglas Hyde, the son of a Church of Ireland rector, of the Gaelic League (known in Irish as Conradh na Gaeilge) which started the Gaelic Revival. Leading supporters of Conradh included Pádraig Mac Piarais and Éamon de Valera. The revival of interest in the language coincided with other cultural revivals, such as the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association and the growth in the performance of plays about Ireland in English, by such luminaries as William Butler Yeats, J.M. Synge, Sean O'Casey and Lady Gregory, with their launch of the Abbey Theatre. Even though the Abbey Theatre playwrights wrote in English (and indeed some disliked Irish) the Irish language affected them, as it did all Irish English speakers. The version of English spoken in Ireland, known as Hiberno-English bears striking similarities in some grammatical idioms with Irish. Some have speculated that even after the vast majority of Irish people stopped speaking Irish, they perhaps subsconsciously used its grammatical flair in the manner in which they spoke English. This fluency is reflected in the writings of Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde and more recently in the writings of Seamus Heaney, Paul Durcan, Dermot Bolger and many others. (It may also in part explain the appeal in Britain of Irish-born broadcasters like Terry Wogan, Eamonn Andrews, Graham Norton, Desmond Lynam, etc.) This national cultural revival of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century matched the growing Irish radicalism in Irish politics. Many of those, such as Pearse, de Valera, W.T. Cosgrave (Liam Mac Cosguir) and Ernest Blythe (Earnán de Blaghd), who fought to achieve Irish independence and came to govern the independent Irish state, first became politically aware through Conradh na Gaeilge, though Hyde himself resigned from its presidency in 1915 in protest at the movement's growing politicisation. A Church of Ireland campaign to promote worship and religion in Irish was started in 1914 with the founding of Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise (the Irish Guild of the Church). The Roman Catholic Church also replaced its liturgies in Latin with Irish and English for their liturgies following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

Independent Ireland and the language

The independent Irish state was established in 1922 (The Irish Free State 1922-37; Ireland (Éire) from 1937, also known since 1949 as the Republic of Ireland). Although some Republican leaders had been committed language enthusiasts, the new state continued to use English as the language of administration, even in areas where over 80% of the population spoke Irish. The government refused to implement the 1926 recommendations of the Gaeltacht Commission, which included restoring Irish as the language of administration in such areas. As the role of the state grew, it therefore exerted tremendous pressure on Irish-speakers to speak English. This was only partly offset by measures which were supposed to support the Irish language. For instance, the state was by far the largest employer. A qualification in Irish was required to apply for state jobs. However, this did not require a high level of fluency, and few public employees were ever required to use Irish in the course of their work. On the other hand, state employees had to have perfect command of English and had to use it constantly. Because most public employees had a poor command of Irish, it was impossible to deal with them in Irish. If an Irish-speaker wanted to apply for a grant, obtain electricity, or complain about being over-taxed, they had to do it in English. As late as 1986 a Bord na Gaeilge report noted "...the administrative agencies of the state have been among the strongest forces for anglicisation in Gaeltacht areas". (page 41 of “The Irish Language in a Changing Society: Shaping The Future”. Author: Advisory Planning Committee of Bord na Gaeilge. Published by Criterion in 1986). The new state increased attempts to promote Irish through the school system. Some politicians claimed that the state would become predominantly Irish-speaking within a generation. However, it is generally agreed that this policy was clumsily implemented. From the mid-1940s onward the policy of teaching English-speaking children through Irish was abandoned. In the following decades, support for the language was progressively withdrawn. Whereas the first three presidents of Ireland (Douglas Hyde/Dubhghlas de hÍde, Sean T. O'Kelly/Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh and Eamon de Valera) and the fifth (Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh) were all so fluent in Irish that it became the working language in their official residence, later presidents struggled with any degree of fluency, its use declining to such an extent that it is only used now (if at all) in occasional speeches. Similarly, where earlier generations of Irish government leaders were highly fluent, recent prime ministers (Albert Reynolds/Ailbhe Mag Raghnaill, John Bruton, Bertie Ahern) had little fluency, struggling to pronounce passages of their speeches in Irish to their Ard-Fheiseanna (party conference(s), ). It is, though, disputed to what extent such professed language revivalists as de Valera genuinely tried to Gaelicise political life. Ernest Blythe did little during his time as Minister of Finance to assist Irish language projects beyond the vested interests of already established organisations. Even in the first Dáil Éireann, few speeches were delivered as Gaeilge (in Irish), with the exception of formal proceedings. None of the recent taoisigh (plural of 'Taoiseach', meaning 'prime minister') have been fluent in Irish; however, the two most recent Presidents, Mary McAleese (Máire Mhic Ghiolla Íosa) and Mary Robinson (Máire Mhic Róíbín) are fluent, though the latter studied the language while in office to improve her fluency. Every President of Ireland has all so far taken their inaugurational 'Declaration of Office' in the language, but they have the option of taking the English declaration at the inauguration. Even modern parliamentary legislation, though supposed to be issued in both Irish and English, is frequently only available in English. Much of publicly displayed Irish is ungrammatical, thus irritating both language activists and enemies of the language and contributing to the public image of the revival as phony and bogus. Many public bodies have Irish language or bilingual names, but some have downgraded the language. For example, Eircom (formerly Telecom Éireann) effectively dropped Irish from its telephone directories in 1999. An Post, the Republic's postal service, continues to have place names in the language on its postmarks, as well as recognising addresses (as does the Royal Mail in Northern Ireland). In an effort to address the half-committed attitude of Irish language use by the State, the Official Languages Act was passed in 2003. This act ensures that every publication made by a governmental body must be published in both official languages, Irish and English. In addition, the office of Language Commissioner has been set up to act as an ombudsman with regard to equal treatment in both languages. ombudsman, with placenames in English and Irish.]] In 2002, at the launch of what was to be a new traffic management system for Dublin, it was revealed that the vast majority of signs would be in English only. The justification offered was that, in making the English lettering large enough to be easily read by motorists from a distance, there was no space to include Irish. The use of the single Irish words left, 'An Lár' (meaning city centre) was criticised on the basis that no-one would know what it meant, even though it was a term used widely for decades on street signs. Even the once common method in Ireland of beginning and ending letters - beginning 'A Chara' (meaning friend) and ending 'Is Mise le Meas' - is becoming rarer. A major factor in the decline of spoken Irish has been the movement of English-speakers into the Gaeltacht (predominantly Irish speaking areas) and the return of native Irish-speakers who have acquired English-speaking families. This has been stimulated by government grants and infrastructure projects. "only about half Gaeltacht children learn Irish in the home... this is related to the high level of in-migration and return migration which has accompanied the economic restructuring of the Gaeltacht in recent decades" (page xxvi of The Irish Language in a Changing Society: Shaping The Future) . Many see this as a deliberate attempt by anti-nationalist politicians to wipe out the language. "That economic development of the kind undertaken was likely to have such consequences was readily predictable a decade ago" (p47). In a last-ditch effort to stop the complete collapse of Irish-speaking in Connemara in Galway, planning controls have been introduced on the building of new homes in Irish speaking areas. These are supposed to ensure that the proportion of English speakers in the local population does not increase. But even this may be too little, too late, as many of those areas have a majority of English speakers, with all Irish speakers being bilingual, using English as their everyday language except among themselves. Attempts have been made to offer some support for the language through the media, notably the launch of Raidió na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht radio) and Teilifís na Gaeilge (Irish language television, called initially 'TnaG', now renamed TG4); both have been relatively successful. TG4 has offered Irish-speaking young people a forum for youth culture as Gaeilge (in Irish) through rock and pop shows, travel shows, dating games, and even a controversial award-winning soap opera in Irish called Ros na Rún (featuring, among other characters, an Irish-speaking gay couple and their child). Most of TG4's viewership, however, tends to come from showing Gaelic football, hurling and rugby matches, and films in English. There is also a daily Irish-language newspaper called Lá, a weekly called Foinse, and the Irish Times and Daily Ireland have pages in Irish, with articles appended with short lists giving the meaning of some of the words used in English. In 1938, the founder of the Conradh na Gaeilge, Douglas Hyde, was inaugurated as the first President of Ireland. The record of his delivering his inauguration 'Declaration of Office' in his native Roscommon Irish remains almost the only surviving remnant of anyone speaking in that dialect, which in effect died out with him. Over sixty years later, the majority of the Gaeltacht and Irish-speaking areas in existence as he took that oath no longer exist. There is a concerted effort to promote the language among recent immigrants. In 2003, the Qur'an was translated into Irish, following a collaboration between the Islamic Cultural Centre in Dublin and Foras na Gaeilge.

Northern Ireland

:Main article: Irish language in Northern Ireland As in the Republic, the Irish language is a minority language in Northern Ireland, known in Irish as Tuaisceart na hÉireann/Tuaisceart Éireann or na sé chontae (the six counties). Attitudes towards the language in Northern Ireland have traditionally reflected the political differences between its two divided communities. The language has been regarded with suspicion by unionists, who have associated it with the Catholic-dominated Republic, and more recently, with the republican movement. Many republicans in Northern Ireland, including Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, learnt Irish while in prison, a development known as the jailtacht. Although the language was taught in Catholic secondary schools (especially by the Christian Brothers), it was not taught at all in state (Protestant) schools and public signs in Irish were effectively banned under laws by the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which stated that only English could be used. These laws were not repealed by the British government until the early 1990s. However, Irish-medium schools, known as gaelscoileanna, had already been founded in Belfast and Derry, and an Irish-language newspaper called Lá ('day') was established in Belfast. BBC Radio Ulster began broadcasting a nightly half-hour programme in Irish in the early 1980s called Blas ('taste', 'accent'), and BBC Northern Ireland also showed its first TV programme in the language in the early 1990s. The Ultach Trust was also established, with a view to broadening the appeal of the language among Protestants, although hardline loyalists like Ian Paisley continued to ridicule it as a "leprechaun language". Ulster Scots, promoted by many loyalists, was, in turn, ridiculed by nationalists as "a DIY language for Orangemen" According to recent statistics, there is no significant difference between the number of Catholic and Protestant speakers of Ulster Scots in Ulster (see Ulster Scots language), although those involved in promoting Ulster-Scots are almost always unionist. Irish received official recognition in Northern Ireland for the first time in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement. A cross-border body known as Foras na Gaeilge was established to promote the language in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, taking over the functions of the previous Republic-only Bord na Gaeilge. The British government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect to Irish in Northern Ireland. It has been claimed that Belfast now represents the fastest growing centre of Irish language usage on the island - and the Good Friday Agreement's provisions on 'parity of esteem' have been used to give the language an official status there. In March 2005, the Irish language TV service TG4 began broadcasting from the Divis transmitter near Belfast, as a result of agreement between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Northern Ireland Office, although so far this is the only transmitter to carry it.

The Irish Language Today

The number of native Irish-speakers in the Republic of Ireland today is a tiny fraction of what it was at independence. The Official Languages Act of 2003 gave people the right to interact with state bodies in Irish. It is too early to assess how well this is working in practice. Other factors were outward migration of Irish speakers from the Gaeltacht and inward migration of English-speakers. The Planning and Development Act (2000) attempted to address the latter issue, but the response is almost certainly inadequate. Planning controls now require new housing in Gaeltacht areas to be allocated to English-speakers and Irish-speakers in the same ratio as the existing population of the area. This will not prevent houses allocated to Irish-speakers subsequently being sold on to English-speakers. Outward migration of Irish-speakers could be reduced if the state, which is the main employer in the Republic of Ireland, were to exercise its right to have certain jobs performed in Irish and relocated to the Gaeltacht. On 3rd December 2003 the Minister for Finance announced a new Decentralisation programme, moving over 10,000 civil and public service jobs to 53 locations in 25 other counties outside Dublin. The government explicitly said this was being done to boost the economy of outlying areas. None of these jobs were used to provide employment for native Irish-speakers in the Gaeltacht. According to data compiled by the Irish Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, only one quarter of households in Gaeltacht areas possess a fluency in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe, described the Irish language policy followed by Irish governments a 'complete and absolute disaster.' The Irish Times (January 6, 2002), referring to his analysis, which was initially published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse, quoted him as follows: 'It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but the number now is between 20,000 and 30,000.' According to the language survey, levels of fluency among families is 'very low', from 1% in Galway suburbs to a maximum of 8% parts of west Donegal. With such sharp decline, particularly among the young, the real danger exists that Irish will largely become extinct within two generations, possibly even one. While the language will continue to exist among English speakers who have learned fluency and are bilingual (though mainly English-speaking in their everyday lives) Gaeltachtaí embody more than just a language, but the cultural context in which it is spoken, through song, stories, social traditions, folklore and dance. The death of the Gaeltachtaí would make a break forever between Ireland's cultural past and identity, and its future. All sides, irrespective of their view on the methodology used by independent Ireland in its efforts to preserve the language, agree that such a loss would be a cultural tragedy of a monumental scale. The [http://www.usenglish.org/foundation U.S. English Foundation] has published analyses of the United States Census 2000, and states that 25,870 US residents [http://www.usenglish.org/foundation/research/lia/languages/irish_gaelic.pdf speak the Irish language at home (pdf file)]. An interest in the Irish language is maintained throughout the English speaking world among the Irish diaspora and there are active Irish language groups in North American, British and Australian cities. Several computer software products have the option of an Irish-language interface. Prominent examples include Mozilla Firefox[http://gaeilge.mozdev.org/], Mozilla Thunderbird[http://gaeilge.mozdev.org/], OpenOffice.org[http://ga.openoffice.org/], and Microsoft Windows XP[http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0db2e8f9-79c4-4625-a07a-0cc1b341be7c&displaylang=ga].

Notes

¹Article in the Irish Independent. ² J.P.Mallory Two Perspectives on the Problem of Irish Origins Emania 9(1991)53, at 58: "The lexical evidence of the Irish language suggests that it was introduced into Ireland most plausibly after c.1200 BC and any attempt to set the arrival of the Irish before this date becomes increasingly difficult to sustain ... I find it difficult to imagine it as anything other than a language introduced by a population movement rather than a lingua franca or pidgin carried along trade routes ..."

External links

- [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page:Gaeilge Irish main page at Wikisource]
- [http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Die_araner_mundart Die araner mundart] (a phonological description of the dialect of the Aran Islands, from 1899)
- [http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/gaeilge.html Gaeilge ar an ghréasán Irish online recources]
- [http://www.bnag.ie Foras na Gaeilge]
- [http://www.foinse.ie Foinse - weekly newspaper]
- [http://www.daltai.com Irish Language Information and Resources]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gle Irish] at Ethnologue
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Irish-english/ Irish - English Dictionary]
- [http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/search.html Gaelic Dictionaries]
- [http://nualeargais.ie/gnag/gram.htm Braesicke's Gramadach na Gaeilge (Engl. translation)]
- [http://www.kids.net.au/encyclopedia-wiki/ir/Irish_language Kids.net.au Article]
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Irish-english/ Irish English Dictionary] from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition

Northern Ireland

- [http://www.cinni.org/ultach/ Ultach Trust]
- [http://www.nuacht.com Lá]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/irish/ BBC Northern Ireland Irish language] ja:アイルランド語 nb:Irsk gælisk språk

Walled city

.]] A defensive wall is a fortification used to defend a city from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China and the Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose vast regions. Walls are usually made of stone or clay and are generally as tall as a man's own height, although oftentimes much taller. Depending on the topography of the area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect, elements of the terrain (e.g. rivers or rocks) may be incorporated in order to make the wall more effective. Walls may only be crossed by entering the appropriate city gate and are often supplemented with towers. In the middle ages, it was a privilege to be granted to build a defensive wall, and was granted by the so-called "right of fortification". The practice of building these massive walls, though having its origins in prehistory, was refined during the rise of city-states, and energetic wall-building continued into the medieval period and beyond in certain parts of Europe.

History

Defensive walls are an evolved form of the palisades and other defensive measure employed to protect early settlements. From very early history to modern times, walls have been a near necessity for every city. Exceptions were few - notably, ancient Rome did not have a wall for a long time, choosing to rely on its legions for defense instead. In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified towns known as oppida, whose walls seem partially influenced by those built in the Mediterranean. The fortifications were continously expanded and improved, until the Celts were driven away by the immigrating German tribes. Initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled on top of each other without mortar. The Romans fortified their cities with massive, mortar-bound stone walls. The most famous remainder of this type is the Porta Nigra in Trier, though there also some left in Regensburg and Cologne. Apart from these, the early Middle Ages also saw the creation of some cities built around castles. These cities were only rarely protected by simple stone walls and more usually by a combination of both walls and ditches. From the 12th century AD hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded all across Europe, who very often obtained the right of fortification soon afterwards. The founding of cities was an important means of territorial expansion and many cities, especially in eastern Europe, were founded precisely for this purpose during the period of Eastern Colonisation. These cities are easy to recognise due to their regular layout and large market spaces. The fortifications of these settlements were continously improved to reflect the current level of military development.

Composition

At its simplest, a defensive wall consists of a wall enclosure and its gates. For the most part, the top of the walls were accessible, with the outside of the walls having tall parapets with embrasures or merlons. North of the Alps, this passegeway at the top of the walls even had a roof. Occasionally, instead of a passageway, loose rocks were placed on top of the wall - these warned the defenders when the assailants were trying to climb the walls. Examples of this can be found in the fortifications of the cities Seßlach and Fladungen. In addition to this, many different enhancements were made over the course of the centuries:
- City ditch: a ditch dug in front of the walls, occasionally filled with water.
- Gate tower: a tower built next to, or on top of the city gates to better defend the city gates
- Wall tower: a tower built on top of a segment of the wall, which usually extended outwards slightly, so as to be able to cover the walls.
- Pre-wall: wall built outside the wall proper, usually of lesser height - the space inbetween was usually further subdivided by additional walls.
- Additional obstacles in front of the walls, e.g. hedges. The defensive towers of west and south European fortifications in the Middle Ages were often very regularly and uniformly constructed (cf. Avila, Provins), whereas Central European city walls tend to show a variety of different styles. In these cases, the gate and wall towers often reach up to considerable heights, and gates equipped with two towers on either side are much rarer. Apart from the purely military, defensive purpose, towers also played an important representative and artistic role in the conception of a fortified complex. In many senses, the architecture of the city thus competed with that of the castle of the noble men and city walls were often a manifestation of the pride of a particular city. Urban areas outside the city walls, so-called Vorstädte, were often enclosed by their own set of walls and integrated into the defense of the city. These areas were often inhabited by the poorer population and held the "noxious trades". In many cities, a new wall was built once the city had grown outside of the old wall. This can often still be seen in the layout of the city, for example in Nördlingen, and sometimes even a few of the old gate towers are preserved, such as the white tower in Nürnberg. Additional constructions prevented the circumvention of the city, through which many important trade routes passed, thus ensuring that tolls were payed when the caravans passed through the city gates, and that the local market was visited by the trade caravans. Furthermore, additional signalling and observation towers were frequently built outside the city, and were sometimes fortified in a castle-like fashion. The border of the area of influence of the city was often partially or fully defended by elaborate ditches, walls and/or hedges. The crossing points were usually guarded by gates or gate houses. These defenses were regularly checked by riders, who often also served as the gate keepers. Long stretches of these defenses can still be seen to this day, and even some gates are still intact. To further protect their territory, rich cities also established castles in their area of influence. A famous examples of this practice is the Rumanian "Dracula Castle" Bran in Törzburg, which was intended to protect Kronstadt (today's Brasov). The city walls were often connected to the fortifications of hill castles via additional walls . Thus the defenses were made up of city and castle fortifications taken together. Several examples of this are preserved, for example in Germany Hirschorn on the Neckar, Königsberg and Pappenheim, Franken, Burghausen in Oberbayern and many more. A few castles were more directly incorporated into the defensive strategy of the city (e.g Nürnberg, Zons, Carcassonne), or the cities were directly outside the castle as a sort of "pre-castle" (Coucy-le-Chateau, Conwy and others). Larger cities often had multiple stewards - for example Augsburg was divided into a Reichstadt and a bishopal (clerical) city. These different parts were often separated by their own fortifications. With the development of firearms came the necessity to expand the existing installation, which occured in multiples stages. Firstly, additional, half-circular towers were added in the interstices between the the walls and pre-walls (s.a.) in which a handful of cannons could be placed. Soon after, reinforcing structures - or "bastions" - were added in strategically relevant positions, e.g. at the gates or corners. A well-preserved example of this is the Spitalbastei in Rothenburg. However, at this stage the cities were still only protected by relatively thin walls which could offer little resistance to the cannons of the time. Therefore new, star-shaped forts with numerous cannons and thick earth walls reinforced by stone were built. These could resist cannon fire for prolonged periods of time. However, these massive fortifications severly limited the growth of the cities, as it was much more difficult to move them as compared to the simple walls previously employed - to make matters worse, it was forbidden to build "outside the city gates" for strategic reasons and the cities became more and more densely populated as a result.

Decline

In the wake of city growth and the ensuing change of defensive strategy, focussing more on the defense of forts around cities, most city walls were demolished. Nowadays, the presence of former city fortifications can often only be deduced from the presence of ditches or parks. Furthermore, some street names hint at the presence of fortifications in times past, for example when words such as "gate", "wall, or "glacis" occur. In the 19. century, less emphasis was placed on preserving the fortifications for the sake of their architectural or historical value - on the one hand, complete fortifications were restored (Carcassone), on the other hand many structures were demolished in an effort to modernise the cities. An notable exception in this is the "monument preservation" law by the Bavarian King Ludwig I., which led to the nearly complete preservation of many impressive monuments such as the Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl . The countless small fortified towns in the Franken region were also preservered as a consequence of this edict.

Modern Era

Walls and fortified wall structures were built in the modern era, too. They did not, however have the original purpose of being a structure able to resist a prolonged siege or bombardment. The Berlin's city wall from the 1730s to the 1860s was partially made of wood. Its primary purpose was to enable the city to impose tolls on goods and, secondarily, also served to prevent the desertion of soldiers from the garrison in Berlin. The Berlin wall was a different form of wall, in that it did not primarily serve the purpose of protection of an enclosed settlment. It's primary purpose was to prevent the crossing of the Berlin border between the DDR and the BRD exclave of west-Berlin. Further walls of the 20. century are found in Israel where many exclaves of Jewish settlements are surrounded by fortified walls. Additionally, in some countries, different embassies may be grouped together in a single "embassy district", enclosed by a fortified complex with walls and towers - this usually occurs in regions where the embassies run a high risk of being target of attacks. Most of these "modern" city walls are made of steel and concrete. Vertical concrete plates are put together so as to allow the least space in between them, and are rooted firmly in the ground. The top of the wall is often protruding and beset with barbed wire in order to make climbing them more difficult. These walls are usually built in straight lines and covered by watchtowers at the corners. Double walls, i.e. two walls with an interstitial "zone of fire" (cf. the Berlin wall) are rare.

Africa

- Zinder, Nigeria was well known for its city wall, the remains of which can still be seen.

Austria

- Vienna (destroyed)

Canada

- Quebec City, Quebec is the only fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist, in the Americas.

China

- Great Wall of China
- Chinese cities occasionally have remnants of city walls that were built in the Ming Dynasty and designed to withstand artillery bombardment. Chinese cities generally outgrew their walls, which fell into disrepair in the Qing dynasty. The city of Xi'an has well-preserved walls with a water filled moat that is a tourist attraction incorporating small parks surrounding a busy and modern area of the city.
- The walls of Beijing were demolished during the 1960s to open large streets around the city. A metro line also follows the location of the former city walls.
- Jingzhou
- Pingyao
- Walled villages can still be found in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Croatia

- Dubrovnik has well-preserved city fortifications including towers, gate, rampart walk and two citadels guarding the docks.
- Stone walls built in 14th-16th century, at the isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula, to the north of Dubrovnik; 890 meters long town wall and 5 km Great Wall outside the town
- Karlovac city walls, built in 1579 as a six-point star with bastions.
- The town of Split retains much of its ancient wall.

France

- Aigues-Mortes
- Arles (partial remains)
- Avignon
- Carcassonne
- Dinan
- La Couvertoirade
- Langres
- Maginot Line
- Saint-Malo's old town

Germany

Saint-Malo]
- Ahrweiler
- Annaberg-Buchholz
- Amberg
- Andernach
- Bad Münstereifel
- Bautzen/Sa.
- Berching/Opf.
- Bernau bei Berlin
- Blankenburg (Harz)
- Boppard
- Brandenburg
- Büdingen
- Dettelbach/Ufr.
- Dinkelsbühl/Mfr.
- Dollnstein/Altmühltal
- Donauwörth/Bay.
- Ebern/Ufr.
- Eibelstadt/Ufr.
- Eichstätt/Altmühltal
- Fladungen/Rhön, Ufr.
- Forchheim/Ofr.
- Freiberg/Sa.
- Freinsheim
- Frickenhausen/Ufr.
- Fritzlar/Hess.
- Gerolzhofen/Ufr.
- Greding/Altmühltal
- Heidingsfeld(Würzburg)/Ufr.
- Ingolstadt/Obb.
- Iphofen/Ufr.
- Jena
- Karlstadt am Main/Ufr.
- Kaufbeuren/Allgäu
- Korbach
- Kronach/Ofr.
- Landsberg am Lech/Obb.
- Mainbernheim/Ufr.
- Memmingen/Allgäu
- Merkendorf/Mfr.
- Mühlhausen/Thür.
- Müncheberg
- Münnerstadt/Ufr.
- Nabburg/Opf
- Neubrandenburg
- Neuburg an der Donau/Obb.
- Neustadt an der Saale/Ufr.
- Nördlingen
- Nürnberg
- Oberwesel/Rhein
- Ochsenfurt/Ufr.
- Ornbau/Mfr.
- Pappenheim/Altmühltal
- Rodach/Ofr.
- Rostock
- Röttingen/Ufr.
- Rothenburg ob der Tauber/Mfr.
- Schongau/Obb.
- Seßlach/Ofr.
- Soest
- Sommerhausen/Ufr
- Stralsund,
- Templin
- Ulm an der Donau
- Vellberg/BW
- Warburg (Westfalia)
- Wemding/Bavaria
- Weißenburg/Mfr.
- Wittstock
- Wolframs-Eschenbach/Mfr.
- Würzburg/Ufr.
- Zerbst/Sa.-Anh.
- Zeil am Main/Ufr.
- Zons
- Zwickau
- The German Democratic Republic claimed that the Berlin Wall (and the whole DDR border system) was defensive; but it was rather intended to prevent unauthorized emigration.

Greece

- Thessaloniki
- Iraklion
- Rhodes
- Monemvassia
- Ioannina This is just a short list

Hungary

- Buda

Israel

- Jerusalem's Old City Walls
- The walls of Akko (Acre) - 18th century modern Ottoman fortification able to withstand cannons attack. The wall has been restored and now includes rampart for tourists.

Ireland

- Pale

Middle East

- Jericho's Ancient City Walls - probably the most ancient stone wall ever discovered.

Morocco and Western Sahara

- In the 1980s, Morocco built a system of sand wall defenses, the Moroccan Wall (also known as the "Western Sahara walls" or "berm"), to keep the Polisario out of the Western Sahara.

the Netherlands

- 's-Hertogenbosch
- Maastricht

Philippines

- Intramuros - partially preserved, partially restored after WWII. Original walls are still on are well preserved.
- Fort San Pedro - in Cebu
- Fort San Antonio Abad - in Manila
- Fort Pillar- a Spanish defence fort in the island of Mindanao Mindanao

Poland

- Warsaw - partially preserved, partially restored after World War II, barbican restored
- Kraków - only the barbican and some traces preserved
- Zamość - complete renaissance and 19th century walls preserved
- Toruń
- Grudziądz
- Włocławek
- Tyniec

Spain

- Ávila
- Barcelona has portions of a Roman wall.
- Girona
- Lugo has a complete ringwall, some parts dating back to Roman times.
- Toledo

Sweden

- Visby
- Gothenburg has a part of the western city wall left, the bastion Carolus Rex at Esperanto platsen (Esperanto square) and most of the city moat is still left.
- Stockholm has a small remainder of the medeival city wall preserved.

Turkey

- Istanbul

United Kingdom

- Fragments of London Wall, the wall that once surrounded the Roman town of Londinium, are still visible just outside the Museum of London and at Tower Hill.
- The extensive remnains of the York city walls are both a shortcut above the streets and, as in many places, a tourist attraction.
- The walls of Coventry were demolished in 1662 and now only a few fragments survive.
- Berwick-upon-Tweed
- Canterbury
- Chester
- Chichester
- Conwy
- Londonderry
- Stirling
- Warwick
- Antonine Wall
- Hadrian's Wall

United States

- Wall Street, in New York City, is named after New York's old city wall, long since dismantled.

Republic of Ireland

:For an explanation of often confusing terms like Ulster, (Republic of) Ireland, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology) . The Republic of Ireland (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is the official description of the sovereign state which covers approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of north-west Europe. The state's official name is Ireland (Irish: Éire), and this is how international organisations and citizens refer to the country. It is a member of the European Union, has a developed economy and a population of slightly more than four million. The remaining sixth of the island of Ireland is known as Northern Ireland and is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Name

Main article: Names of the Irish state The constitution provides that the name of the state is "Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland." However the state is commonly referred to as the "Republic of Ireland" in order to distinguish it from the island of Ireland as a whole. The name Republic of Ireland came into use after the Republic of Ireland Act defined it as the official "description" of the state in 1949 (the purpose of the act being to declare that the state was a republic rather than a form of constitutional monarchy), it is also the accepted legal name in the United Kingdom of the state as per the Ireland Act 1949. Today while Republic of Ireland is an accepted term for the state, Ireland is used for official purposes such as treaties, government and legal documents and membership of international organisations. The state is also referred to, in English, by many other names such as Éire and the Twenty-six Counties. The use of Éire, in the English language, in Ireland has become increasingly rare, not least due to past condescending connotations. Historically the state has had more than one official title. The revolutionary state established by nationalists in 1919 was known as the "Irish Republic", while when the state achieved de jure independence in 1922 it became known as the "Irish Free State" (in the Irish language Saorstát Éireann), a name that was retained until 1937.

History

Main article: History of the Republic of Ireland The partition of Ireland came about because of complex constitutional developments in the early twentieth century. From 1 January 1801 until 6 December 1922, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Famine in 1845-1847, in which 1.5 million Irish died, was followed by enormous emigration. From 1874, but particularly from 1880 under Charles Stewart Parnell, the Irish Parliamentary Party moved to prominence with its attempts to achieve Home Rule, which would have given Ireland some autonomy without requiring it to leave the United Kingdom. It seemed possible in 1911 when the House of Lords lost their veto, and John Redmond secured the Third Home Rule Act 1914. The unionist movement, however, had been growing since 1886 among Irish Protestants, fearing that they would face discrimination, and lose economic and social privileges if Irish Catholics were to achieve real political power. Though Irish unionism existed throughout the whole of Ireland, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century unionism was particularly strong in parts of Ulster, where industrialisation was more common in contrast to the more agrarian rest of the island. (Any tariff barriers would, it was feared, most heavily hit that region.) In addition, the Protestant population was more strongly located in Ulster, with unionist majorities existing in about four counties. Under the leadership of the Dublin-born Sir Edward Carson and the northerner Sir James Craig they became more militant. In 1914, to avoid rebellion in Ulster, the British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, with agreement of the leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party leadership, inserted a clause into the bill providing for home rule for 26 of the 32 counties, with an as of yet undecided new set of measures to be introduced for the area temporarily excluded. Though it received the Royal Assent, the Third Home Rule Act 1914's implementation was suspended until after the Great War. (The war at that stage was expected to be ended by 1915, not the four years it did ultimately last.) For the prior reasons Redmond and his Irish National Volunteers supported the Allied cause, and tens of thousands joined the British Army. In January

Derry

Name

History

Economy

In song

Famous People from Derry

External links

Derry (disambiguation)

See also

Irish language

Names of the language

In English

In Irish

Official status

The Gaeltacht

Dialects

Munster dialects

Connacht dialects

Ulster dialects

Other regions

Comparisons

Shelta

Linguistic Structure

Syntax

Morphology

Orthography and pronunciation

Mutations

History and politics

Stages of the Irish language

The Irish Language Movement

Independent Ireland and the language

Northern Ireland

The Irish Language Today

Notes

See also

External links

Northern Ireland

Walled city

History

Composition

Decline

Modern Era

Africa

Austria

Canada

China

Croatia

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Israel

Ireland

Middle East

Morocco and Western Sahara

the Netherlands

Philippines

Poland

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States

See also

Republic of Ireland

Name

History