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Portadown

Portadown

Portadown (Port an Dúnáin in Irish) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It has a population of slightly under 30,000 which is roughly 2/3 Protestant and 1/3 Catholic. Portadown is situated on the River Bann, in the North of County Armagh. Although the town can trace its origins to at least the 17th Century it was not until the Victorian era, and the arrival of the railway that it became a major town. It was the site of an annual march in July by the Orange Order, from the Drumcree Church through the nationalist area of the Garvaghy Road, which residents claimed was provocative. The Orange Order refused to negotiate with a committee of residents, and in 1997, the Parades Commission banned the march indefinitely. It has been replaced by an annual protest over the ban. Portadown is a stronghold of the Loyalist Volunteer Force, a loyalist paramilitary group which split from the larger Ulster Volunteer Force over the latter's support for the Belfast Agreement, though the Ulster Volunteer Force also have a strong presence in the town. In the 2004 book "Crap Towns II: The 50 worst places to live in the United Kingdom" Portadown was placed at no.20, the second highest ranked in Northern Ireland after Belfast. Portadown is known as "The Hub of the North" apparently due to its central position in Northern Ireland and good transport links to other towns and cities. Due to this, in the 19th Century it became a major manufacturing and market town and still has numerous factories involved in the production of pharmaceuticals, meat products, baked goods and carpets which are sold nationally and internationally. :See also: List of towns in Northern Ireland Category: Towns in Armagh

External link

- [http://www.portadownnews.com PortadownNews.com (Local Political Satire)]

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

County Armagh

County Armagh (Contae Ard Mhacha in Irish) is a county in Ulster. It is one of the six counties that form Northern Ireland. County Armagh is known by some as the Orchard of Ireland because the land is so fertile for apple-growing. Its main town is Armagh, in the middle of the county, although Lurgan at the extreme north-east has a larger population. The county borders Lough Neagh to the north, County Down (Northern Ireland) to the east, County Louth (Republic of Ireland) to the south and County Tyrone (NI) and County Monaghan (ROI) to the west. The southern part of Armagh (South Armagh) is the most militarised region in Western Europe due to the history of "the Troubles". The region has been a stronghold of support for the IRA, earning it the nickname 'Bandit Country'. South Armagh is predominately nationalist, with most of the population being opposed to any form of British presence, especially that of a military nature.

Geography

The river Blackwater runs along the border with County Tyrone. The River Bann enters Lough Neagh in the north, flowing though the north-east of the county. Mountains in Armagh include Slieve Guillion, Carrigatuke and Camlough Mountain. There are also a number of islands in the county's section of Lough Neagh: Coney Island, Coney Island Flat, Croaghan Flat, Derrywarragh Island, Padian, Phil Roe's Flat and The Shallow Flat.

Administration

County Armagh is divided for administrative purposes between three district councils: Armagh City and District Council, most of Craigavon Borough Council, and approximately the western third of Newry and Mourne.

Protestant

Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing a split from within the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europe —a period known as the Protestant Reformation. Commonly considered one of the three major branches of Christianity (along with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), the term "Protestant" represents a diverse range of theological and social perspectives, churches and related organizations.

Definition and origins

Originally, "protestant" meant "to be a witness for something" rather than "to be against something", as the current popular interpretation of the word seems to imply. The prefix "pro" means "for" in Latin. The Latin adjective "protestans" refers to "a person who gives public testimony for something or who proves or demonstrates something." The term Protestant originally applied to the group of princes and imperial cities who "protested" the decision by the 1529 Diet of Speyer to reverse course, and enforce the 1521 Edict of Worms. The 1521 edict forbade Lutheran teachings within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1526 session of the Diet had agreed to toleration of Lutheran teachings (on the basis of Cuius regio, eius religio) until a General Council could be held to settle the question, but by 1529, the Catholic forces felt they had gathered enough power to end the toleration without waiting for a Council. In a broader sense of the word, Protestant began to be used as the collective name for a sudden movement of separation from the Roman Catholic Church, the beginning of which is ordinarily connected with the public disputes raised by Martin Luther. Later, John Calvin, French theologian among the Swiss; Zwinglian, and Reformed churches figured prominently in a movement that embraced a wider, more international diversity of churches. A third major branch of the Reformation, which encountered conflict with the Catholics, as well as with the Lutherans and the Reformed, is sometimes called the Radical Reformation. Some Western, non-Catholic, groups are labeled as Protestant (such as the Religious Society of Friends, for example), even if the sect acknowledges no historical connection to Luther, Calvin or the Roman Catholic Church. In German-speaking and Scandinavian lands, the word "Protestant" still refers to Lutheran churches in contrast to Reformed churches, while the common designation for all churches originating from the Reformation is "Evangelical". As an intellectual movement, Protestantism grew out of the Renaissance and universities, attracting some learned intellectuals, as well as politicians, professionals, and skilled tradesmen and artisans. The new technology of the printing press allowed Protestant ideas to spread rapidly, as well as aiding in the dissemination of translations of the Bible in native tongues. Nascent Protestant social ideals of liberty of conscience, and individual freedom, were formed through continuous confrontation with the authority of the Bishop of Rome, and the hierarchy of the Catholic priesthood. The Protestant movement away from the constraints of tradition, toward greater emphasis on individual conscience, anticipated later developments of democratization, and the so-called "Enlightenment" of later centuries.

Basic theological tenets of the Reformation

During the Reformation, several Latin slogans emerged, illustrating the Reformers' concern that the authorities of the Church had distorted the message of justification before God, and salvation in Jesus Christ. The Reformers believed it was necessary to return to the simplicity of the Gospel in terms of the issues designated by these slogans. A protestant is a member or adherent of any denomination of the Western Christian church that rejects papal authority and some fundamental Roman Catholic doctrines, and believes in justification by faith.

The Solas

There were five Solas, four discussed here. The fifth, Soli deo gloria (to God alone the glory), was intended to underlie the other four. These slogans essentially became rallying cries to challenge the problems the Reformers believed they had identified, which are:
- Solus Christus: Christ alone. :The Protestants characterized the dogma concerning the Pope as Christ's representative head of the Church on earth, the concept of meritorious works, and the Roman idea of a treasury of the merits of saints, as a denial that Christ is the only mediator between God and man.
- Sola scriptura: Scripture alone. :Protestants believed that the Roman Catholic church obscured the teaching of the Bible, and undermined its authority, by following Tradition, regardless of whether it over-ruled or added to the doctrines of Scripture.
- Sola fide: Faith alone. :The Protestants characterized the Roman Catholic concept of meritorious works, of penance and indulgences, masses for the dead, the treasury of the merits of saints and martyrs, a ministering priesthood who hears confessions, and purgatory, as reliance upon other means for justification, in addition to faith in Jesus and his work on the cross.
- Sola gratia: Grace alone. :The Roman Catholic view of the means of salvation was believed by the Protestants to be a mixture of reliance upon the grace of God, and confidence in the merits of one's own works, performed in love. The Reformers posited that salvation is entirely comprehended in God's gifts, (i.e. God's act of free grace) dispensed by the Holy Spirit according to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone. Consequently, they argued that a sinner is not accepted by God on account of the change wrought in the believer by God's grace, and indeed, that the believer is accepted without any regard for the merit of his works - for no one deserves salvation. Naturally, it proved easier to advocate separation from the Catholic Church (as the English Puritan "separatists" eventually did), than to form a single, positively united alternative. Also, the violent reaction by the Catholic leadership towards the Protestants certainly was designed to stamp them out, to make the problem "go away", not to solve it. On the theological front, the Protestant movement soon began to coalesce into several distinct branches. One of the central points of divergence was controversy over the Lord's Supper.

Real presence in the Lord's Supper

Although early Protestants were in general agreement against the Roman Catholic dogma of transubstantiation, which teaches that the substance of the bread and wine used in the sacrificial rite of the Mass is transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ (see Eucharist), with the subsequent logic that the wafer (being Christ), became worthy of worship; they disagreed with one another concerning the manner in which Christ is present in Holy Communion.
- Lutherans hold to an understanding closest to that of Real Presence (often characterized by critics by the term, "consubstantiation"), which affirms the true presence of Christ "in, with, and under" the bread and wine. Lutherans point to Jesus' statement, "This IS my body", while refusing to delve past Christ's words in order to describe just how this takes place. Lutheran teaching does, however, insist that Christ is present physically, rather than in a purely "spiritual" sense.
- Reformed teaching concerning the Lord's Supper ranges along the continuum from Calvin to Zwingli. The Reformed closest to Calvin emphasize the real presence, or sacramental presence, of Christ, saying that the sacrament is a means of saving grace through which the believer actually partakes of Christ, "but not in a carnal manner". Zwinglians deny that Christ makes himself present to the believer through the elements of the sacrament, but affirm that Christ is united to the believer through the faith toward which the supper is an aid (a view referred to somewhat derisively as memorialism).
- A Protestant holding a popular simplifiction of the Zwinglian view, without concern for theological intricacies as hinted at above, may see the Lord's Supper merely as a symbol of the shared faith of the participants, a commemoration of the facts of the crucifixion, and a reminder of their standing together as the Body of Christ. In Christian theology, as the bread shares identity with Christ (which he calls, "my body"), in an analogous way, the Church shares identity with Him (and also is called "the Body of Christ"). Thus, controversies over the Lord's Supper only initially seem to be about the nature of bread and wine, but are ultimately about the nature of salvation, and therefore secondarily about the nature of the Church. And, indirectly, about the nature of Christ.

Authority

See the articles Lay, Ordained and Priesthood of all believers

Authority in the Church

Most Protestant churches fulfill similar rituals to Catholicism—chiefly baptism, communion, and matrimony—frequently varying or de-formalizing the rites.

Understanding of secular authority

- Lutheran - doctrine of the two kingdoms
- Reformed
- Radical - Anabaptist and peace churches

The Kingdom of God

Later development

Protestants can be differentiated according to how they have been influenced by important movements since the magisterial Reformation and the Puritan Reformation in England. Some of these movements have a common lineage, sometimes directly spawning later movements in the same groups.

Pietism 17th Century - Methodist movement 18th century

The German Pietist movement, together with the influence of the Puritan Reformation in England in the 17th century, were important influences upon John Wesley and Methodism, as well as through smaller, new groups such as the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers") and the Moravian Brotherhood from Germany. The practice of a spiritual life, typically combined with social engagement, predominates in classical Pietism, which was a protest against the doctrine-centeredness Protestant Orthodoxy of the times, in favor of depth of religious experience. Many of the more conservative Methodists went on to form the Holiness movement, which emphasized a rigorous experience of holiness in practical, daily life.
Evangelicalism 18th Century
Beginning at the end of 18th century, several international revivals of Pietism (such as the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening), took place across denominational lines, which are referred to generally as the Evangelical movement. The chief emphases of this movement were individual conversion, personal piety and Bible study, public morality often including Temperance and Abolitionism, de-emphasis of formalism in worship and in doctrine, a broadened role for laity (including women) in worship, evangelism and teaching, and cooperation in evangelism across denominational lines.
Pentecostalism 20th Century
Pentecostalism, as a movement, began in the United States early in the 20th century, starting especially within the Holiness movement. Seeking a return to the operation of New Testament gifts of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as evidence of the "baptism of the Holy Ghost" became the leading feature. Divine healing and miracles were also emphasized. Pentecostalism swept through much of the Holiness movement, and eventually spawned hundreds of new denominations in the United States. A later "charismatic" movement also stressed the gifts of the Spirit, but often operated within existing denominations, rather than by coming out of them.
Modernism 20th Century
Modernism, or Liberalism, does not constitute a rigorous and well-defined school of theology, but is rather an inclination by some writers and teachers to integrate Christian thought into the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment. New understandings of history and the natural sciences of the day led directly to new approaches to theology.
Fundamentalism 20th Century
In reaction to liberal Bible critique, Fundamentalism arose in the 20th century, primarily in the United States and Canada, among those denominations most affected by Evangelicalism. Fundamentalism placed primary emphasis on the authority and sufficiency of the Bible, and typically advised separation from error, and cultural conservatism, as important aspects of the Christian life.
Neo-orthodoxy 20th century
A non-fundamentalist rejection of liberal Christianity, associated primarily with Karl Barth, neo-orthodoxy sought to counter-act the tendency of liberal theology to make theological accommodations to modern scientific perspectives. Sometimes called Crisis theology, according to the influence of philosophical existentialism on some important segments of the movement; also, somewhat confusingly, sometimes called neo-evangelicalism.
Neo-evangelicalism mid 20th Century
Neo-evangelicalism is a movement from the middle of the 20th century, that reacted to perceived excesses of Fundamentalism, adding to concern for biblical authority, an emphasis on liberal arts, co-operation among churches, Christian Apologetics, and non-denominational evangelization.
Ecumenism 20th Century
The ecumenical movement has had an influence on mainline churches, beginning at least in 1910 with the Edinburgh Missionary Conference. Its origins lay in the recognition of the need for cooperation on the mission field in Africa, Asia and Oceania. Since 1948, the World Council of Churches has been influential. There are also ecumenical bodies at regional, national and local levels across the globe. One, but not the only expression of the ecumenical movement, has been the move to form united churches, such as the Church of South India, the Church of North India, The United Church of Canada and the Uniting Church in Australia. There has been a strong engagement of Orthodox churches in the ecumenical movement.
Protestantism today
Evangelical and Pentecostal Protestantism are currently the fastest growing branches of Christianity in the world today.
Protestant denominations
Protestants often refer to specific Protestant churches and groups as denominations to imply that they are differently named parts of the whole church. This "invisible unity" is assumed to be imperfectly displayed, visibly: some denominations are less accepting of others, and the basic orthodoxy of some is questioned by most of the others. Individual denominations also have formed over very subtle theological differences. Other denominations are simply regional or ethnic expressions of the same beliefs. The actual number of distinct denominations is hard to calculate, but has been estimated to be over thirty thousand. Various ecumenical movements have attempted cooperation or reorganization of Protestant churches, according to various models of union, but divisions continue to outpace unions. Most denominations share common beliefs in the major aspects of the Christian faith, while differing in many secondary doctrines. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) by David B. Barrett, et al, there are "over 33,000 denominations in 238 countries." Every year there is a net increase of around 270 to 300 denominations.
Protestant families of denominations
Please note that only general families are listed here (tens of thousands of individual denominations exist); some of these groups do not consider themselves as part of the Protestant movement, but are generally viewed as such by scholars and the public at large:
- Anabaptist and Baptist
- Anglican / Episcopalian
- Calvinist / Reformed and Presbyterian
- Lutheran
- Methodist / Wesleyan and the Holiness movement
- Pentecostal and Charismatic
- Quakerism
- Restoration movement
Number of Protestants
There are about 590 million Protestants worldwide. These include 170 million in North America, 160 million in Africa, 120 million in Europe, 70 million in Latin America, 60 million in Asia, and 10 million in Oceania. 27% of all Christians today are Protestants.
Well-known Protestant and Anglican religious figures
In alphabetical order by century
15th century

- Jan Hus, Czech reformist/dissident; burned to death by the Roman Catholic Church authorities.
16th century

- Jacobus Arminius, Dutch theologian, founder of school of thought known as Arminianism
- Heinrich Bullinger, successor of Zwingli, leading reformed theologian
- John Calvin, French speaking Reformer, theologian, founder of school of thought known as Calvinism
- Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII, leader of the English Reformation
- John Knox, Scottish Calvinist reformer,
- Martin Luther, German religious reformer, theologian, founder of the Lutheran church in Germany, founder of Lutheranism
- Philipp Melanchthon, early Lutheran leader
- Menno Simons, founder of Mennonitism
- Huldrych Zwingli, founder of Swiss reformed tradition
17th-19th centuries

- Jacob Amman, founder of the Amish church
- Francis Asbury, early bishop of American Methodism
- Jonathan Edwards, American Puritan theologian, Great Awakening reformist preacher, Calvinist
- George Fox, Founder of the Religious Society of Friends
- William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury under Charles I of England
- Friedrich Schleiermacher, German theologian considered founder of Liberal Christianity
- Joseph Smith, Jr., Self proclaimed Prophet, translator of The Book of Mormon, and founder of Mormonism
- Philipp Jakob Spener, "godfather" of the Pietist movement
- Charles Wesley, Anglican priest, Methodist leader, poet, & hymn writer
- John Wesley, Anglican priest, founder of the Methodist movement
- George Whitefield, Great Awakening reformist preacher
20th century

- Karl Barth, German theologian along with Emil Brunner known for Dialectical theology and Neo-orthodox theology
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian, involved in the resistance against Nazism and executed shortly before the end of World War 2
- Jerry Falwell, American evangelist and political activist
- Billy Graham, American evangelist
- Martin Luther King, Jr., peace and civil rights activist
- C. S. Lewis, apologist / fiction writer
- Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologion and ethicist
- Pat Robertson, American charismatic/fundamentalist leader
- Paul Tillich, Lutheran existentialist theologian
- Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, peace activist
- John Howard Yoder, Mennonite theologian and ethicist
- Nicky Gumbel, Anglican British evangelist
21st century

- John B. Cobb, theologian, involved in Process Theology
- Franklin Graham, American evangelist (son of Billy Graham)
- Stanley Hauerwas, American Christian theologian and ethicist
See also

- Anti-Catholicism
- Anti-Protestantism
- Protestant Reformation
- Protestant work ethic
- Christian timeline for Renaissance & Reformation
- Christianity
- Christian eschatology
External links
Defense of Protestant Christianity:
- [http://www.ccir.ed.ac.uk/~jad/glb_sola.html Is Sola Scriptura a Protestant Concoction? by Dr. Greg Bahnsen ]
- [http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9508/opinion/leithart.html Why Protestants Still Protest by Peter J. Leithart]
- [http://lionofjudah.tribulationforces.com/world_religions/catholic.html Protestant criticisms of Roman Catholicism]
- [http://www.apologeticsinfo.org/resource.html Apologetics Information Ministry] Criticisms of Protestant Christianity:
- [http://protestantism.blogspot.com/ Anti-protestant analysis]
- [http://catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0097.html Why Only Catholicism Can Make Protestantism Work] by Mark Brumley Miscellaneous:
- [http://catalystresources.org/issues/303balmer.html The Future of American Protestantism] from Catalyst (United Methodist perspective) Category:Reformation Category:Christianity ko:개신교 ms:Protestan ja:プロテスタント

Catholic

Catholic (literally meaning: according to (kata-) the whole (holos) or more generally "universal" in Greek) is a Christian religious term with a number of meanings:
- The term can refer to the notion that all Christians are part of one Church, regardless of denominational divisions. This "universal" interpretation is often used to understand the phrase "one holy catholic and apostolic Church" in the Nicene Creed, the phrase "the catholic faith" in the Athanasian Creed, and the phrase "holy catholic church" in the Apostles' Creed.
- It can refer to the members, beliefs, and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Though many identify Roman Catholicism exclusively with the Latin Rite, its variety is seen in its more than twenty particular Churches or Rites, all in full communion with the Pope, and also in its liturgical rites, of which the Roman Rite is only one.
- It can be used to refer to those Christian Churches which maintain that their Episcopate can be traced directly back to the Apostles, and that they are therefore part of a broad catholic (or universal) body of believers. Among those who regard themselves as Catholic but not Roman Catholic are members of the various Eastern Orthodox Churches (such as the Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox), the Oriental Orthodox, Anglo-Catholics (also known as High Anglicans), the Old, Ancient and Liberal Catholic Churches, and the Lutherans (though the latter prefer the lower-case "c"). The various Churches that regard themselves as part of a broad Catholic Church are distinguished by their use of the Nicene Creed, in which believers acknowledge the "one holy catholic and apostolic Church." The Nicene Creed is of course also used by the Roman Catholic Church.
- It can mean the one Church founded by Christ through Peter the Apostle, according to Matthew 16:18-19: "And I tell you, you are Cephas (which means rock), and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’" Early Christians, such as Saint Ignatius of Antioch (who was martyred in about 110, used the term to describe the whole Church - the word's literal meaning is universal or whole - as opposed to the local Church, and excluding adherents of sects or heretical groups. Methodists and Presbyterians believe their denominations owe their origins to the Apostles and the early Church, but do not claim descent from ancient Church structures such as the episcopate. Neither of these Churches, however, denies that they are a part of the catholic (meaning universal) Church.

Present-day usage

While the term is usually associated with the Roman Catholic Church, whose over one billion adherents are about half of the estimated 2.1 billion Christians, other Christian denominations also lay claim to the term "catholic", including the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Protestant Churches possessing an episcopate (bishops). In countries that have been traditionally Protestant, Catholic will often be included in the official name of a particular parish church, school, hospice or other institution belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, to distinguish it from those of other denominations. For example, the name "St. Mark's Catholic Church" makes it clear that it is not an Episcopal or Lutheran church. This usage of the term "Catholic" has a long history. A millennium before the Protestant Reformation, Saint Augustine wrote: :"In the Catholic Church, there are many other things which most justly keep me in her bosom. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep (Jn 21:15-19), down to the present episcopate. :"And so, lastly, does the very name of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house. :"Such then in number and importance are the precious ties belonging to the Christian name which keep a believer in the Catholic Church, as it is right they should ... With you, where there is none of these things to attract or keep me... No one shall move me from the faith which binds my mind with ties so many and so strong to the Christian religion... For my part, I should not believe the gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church." : — St. Augustine (AD 354–430): Against the Epistle of Manichaeus called Fundamental, chapter 4: Proofs of the Catholic Faith[http://www.ccel.org/pager.cgi?&file=fathers/NPNF1-04/augustine/bk_fundamental/bk1.html&from=CHAP4&up=] Earlier still, St Cyril of Jerusalem (circa 315-386) urged those he was instructing in the Christian faith: "If ever thou art sojourning in cities, inquire not simply where the Lord's House is (for the other sects of the profane also attempt to call their own dens houses of the Lord), nor merely where the Church is, but where is the Catholic Church. For this is the peculiar name of this Holy Church, the mother of us all, which is the spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God" (Catechetical Lectures, XVIII, 26).[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310118.htm] Those who apply the term "Catholic Church" to all Christians indiscriminately find it objectionable that a term that they see as designating the whole Church as an invisible entity should be used to refer to one communion only. However, the Roman Catholic Church, which normally refers to itself simply as the Catholic Church, publishing in 1992 a "Catechism of the Catholic Church", can basically be traced historically to the original Catholic or universal Church, from which various groups broke away over the centuries. It holds that there can be no such thing as the Church as an "invisible entity" only. Since the Reformation in the sixteenth century, Protestants (those who protest) have sought to restore a more primitive expression of the Church, with goals and beliefs that they believe to be more consonant with the early Church, based primarily on Scriptural texts. However, there was a more than a millennium between the "early Church" and the "Reformation", during which both Scripture and Christian teaching were maintained. As well as the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Oriental Orthodox Churches all see themselves as the "one holy catholic and apostolic Church" of the Nicene Creed. Others too who do not recognize the primacy of the Bishop of Rome and rank him only as an equal among Patriarchs, such as the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, use the term Catholic to distinguish their own position from a Calvinist or Puritan form of Protestantism. They include "High Church" Anglicans, known also as "Anglo-Catholics". Although the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches in general do not view the Anglican Churches as truly "Catholic", Anglicans themselves claim to have all the qualifications needed to be Catholic.

Catholic Epistles

"Catholic Epistles" is another term for the General Epistles of the Christian New Testament in the Bible, which were addressed not to a particular city but to all in general. It is thus, strictly speaking, not an ecclesiastical term, being employed in the original broad sense of the Greek word from which "catholic" is derived. The epistles in question are [http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.htm#james James]; [http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.htm#1peter First] and [http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.htm#2peter Second Peter]; [http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.htm#1john First], [http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/2john/2john.htm Second], and [http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/3john/3john.htm Third John]and [http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/jude/jude.htm Jude].

Capitalization

Capitalization is no sure guide to denominational affiliation. It may indicate formal affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church or it may not. Capitalization may merely indicate a wish to stress the holy and solemn nature of the spiritual body of believers and a desire for all Christians to be one. It would be anachronistic to attribute significance to capitalization or lack of capitalization in printings of texts dating from before the last few centuries or in translations of those texts, since the originals were written in unmixed majuscule or minuscule letters. Translations even of modern texts into English often follow the usage of the original language. For instance, since French normally capitalizes only the first word of the title of an entity, the adjective "catholique", following the noun "Église", has a lower-case initial. Texts in Latin generally follow this usage, not the English practice.

Avoidance of usage

Some Protestant Christian Churches avoid using the term completely. The Orthodox Churches share some of the concerns about Roman Catholic claims, but disagree with Protestants about the nature of the Church as one body. For some, to use the word "Catholic" at all is to appear to give credence to papal claims.

External links

- [http://www.vatican.va The Holy See] the official Vatican web site
- [http://www.catholicfiles.com/ Catholic Files] free Catholic downloads
- [http://www.catholic.com Catholic Answers] Catholics Answers
- [http://www.thecatholicguide.com TheCatholic Guide] The Catholic Guide
- [http://www.catholicity.com CatholiCity] free catholic CDs and books
- [http://catholicapologeticsofamerica.blogspot.com Catholic Apologetics of America]
- [http://www.catholicexchange.com/ Catholic Exchange] non-profit charity
- [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/ Catholic Encyclopedia]
- [http://www.newadvent.org/summa/ Summa Theologica]
- [http://www.fisheaters.com Fish Eaters: The Whys and Hows of Traditional Catholicism]
- [http://www.malach.org Polish Catholic service Malach - service of Głogów city]
- [http://www.scripturecatholic.com/ Scripture Catholic; Defending Roman Catholicism with its Sacred Scriptures]
- [http://www.mycatholic.com myCatholic.com] — A customizable Catholic web portal.
- [http://www.americancatholic.org/UpdateYourFaith/default.asp Catholic Church FAQs from American Catholic]
- [http://www.stblogsparish.com/bloglist.html Catholic Blogs & Resources] Category:Roman Catholic Church Category:Christianity Category:Anglicanism ko:카톨릭 ja:カトリック教会

County Armagh

Geography

Administration

July

July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. July begins (astrologically) with the sun in the sign of Cancer and ends in the sign of Leo. Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of Gemini and ends in the constellation of Cancer. July was renamed for Julius Caesar; previously, it was called Quintilis in Latin, since it was the fifth month in the Roman calendar which started in March. It also was named because it was the month that Caesar was born. Because of its origin, until the 18th century this month's name was pronounced the same way as the name "Julie". In old Japanese calendar, the month is called fumi zuki (文月). In the pagan wheel of the year July ends at or near to Lughnasadh in the northern hemisphere and Imbolc in the southern hemisphere. Imbolc

Other names

- In the Irish Calendar the month is called Iúil and is the third and last month of the Summer season.
- In Finnish, the month is called heinäkuu, meaning "month of hay".

Trivia

- July begins on the same day of the week as April every year and also January in leap years.
- July's flower is the water lily.
- July's birthstone is the ruby.

Drumcree Church

Drumcree Church is the parish church of Drumcree, a rural Church of Ireland parish to the north of Portadown in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In recent times it has become noted for the Orange Order service held annually on the Sunday before 12 July. The service, or more precisely the Orangemen's march both to and from the service, has been the catalyst for sectarian unrest between the Protestant marchers and the Catholic residents of the area. The present church, known as The Church of the Ascension, was consecrated by the Bishop of Down and Dromore and Connor, Robert Brent Knox, on 28 October 1856. Its foundation stone was laid on 17 May 1855, which in that year was Ascension Day.

History of the site

Drumcree means "Ridge of the Branch", referring to a branchy tree. The site has been used for christian worship since the time of the celts. The Irish Church parish of Drumcree was formed in 1110 and had sixty-six townlands lying to the west of the River Bann. In 1172, following the Synod of Cashel, Drumcree parish, together with the rest of the Irish Church, was subsumed by the Church of Rome. Historical records list the first vicar as David Macralagen. He died in 1414. The parish remained a catholic entity until the Reformation in the mid 1500s. It is unclear what happpended to the church during the time of the Reformation, but a map of 1609 shows the church in ruins within the churchyard. Following the Ulster Plantation in 1610 a new church was built. This was described as "a plain stone building rough cast and whitewashed". In 1812 a tower was built and in 1814 a church bell was installed. In 1826 the rector, Charles Alexander, had a new rectory built. Almost thirty years later, in