What are people from Ireland?

<<<<<<People from Ireland are English speaking.
They are ashamed of their Irish language so most of them cannot even speak it. >>>>>>

never a truer word was spoken.

"never a truer word was spoken."

Never a sillier word was spoken, more like.

Most Irish don't speak Irish because they're ashamed of it. They don't speak it because the majority of them are native English speakers (duh!).

While it is quite true that the decline of Irish is directly attributable to the rise of English, that's hardly the fault of the Irish.

It's the result of several hundred years under English then British rule. During much of that time, the use of English was enforced under law and Irish was discouraged as backward (much the same happened to Welsh- and Gaelic-speaking communities as well).

Ultimately, English became the language of social and economic advancement for Irishmen and it remains so.

Attempts to resurrect interest in Irish, while laudable, are certain to fail. English is now too well entrenched and vital to Ireland's economic life to be displaced by Irish.

"Kenya describes all that you have said? I think not, one of the first attaind countries by the Al Qaeda, obviously uninteresting because its only Africa."

Look at the target: the US Embassy.

"How about the Indonesian bombs, once again it´s only Asia."

Look at the targets: Australian and other decadent "Western" tourists.

"[H]ow about Spain, there [sic] only crime was giving aid, was the hit justified?"

1. The craven Spanish immediately withdrew from Iraq. So quite an effective use of terrorism there!

2. In their crazed vision, the Islamists see Spain as "el Andalus" which must be returned to Muslim rule.

By the way, where the hell did you come with "justified hitable [sic] country"?

Last line above should have read:

By the way, where the hell did you come up with "justified hitable [sic] country"?

"<<<<<<People from Ireland are English speaking.
They are ashamed of their Irish language so most of them cannot even speak it. >>>>>>

never a truer word was spoken."

Isn't Irish/Gaelic taught in Irish schools as its own course???

(1. The craven Spanish immediately withdrew from Iraq. So quite an effective use of terrorism there!)

The Spanish pulled out because of the PP´s actions after the bombing. This opened the way for the PSOE to win the elections and one of the electoral promises was naturally to pull the Spanish out of the war, in so doing saving face.
This issue still isn´t closed in Spain, with some newspapers claming a link between the ETA and the Al-Quaida.

"By the way, where the hell did you come up with "justified hitable [sic] country"?"

From you.

"They are not interested in your country simply because it is strategically insignificant. I love the ROI, I'm delighted that you're enjoying prosperity at last, but let's face it: you're a small, constitutionally neutral nation with no great stake in world affairs. You're also a longtime net beneficiary of US largesse so it's particularly rich for you to take potshots at it.

Your neutrality would have counted for nothing in either the Second World War or the Cold War if there had been no US to hide behind (or UK for that matter)."

The word hitable is slang. It´s a basball term. There is such a thing as poetic license.

<<<<<<Most Irish don't speak Irish because they're ashamed of it. They don't speak it because the majority of them are native English speakers (duh!). >>>>>>

I disagree, there is plenty of opportunity for irish people to learn it to fluency. Yet they don't? Why? Because they feel there is something faulty with the language, its not good enough for them i.e. its shameful (patronising attitudes will get you nowhere in an argument).

<<<<<<<<<<<<<While it is quite true that the decline of Irish is directly attributable to the rise of English, that's hardly the fault of the Irish.>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Really? the real decline in the Irish language began in the early 19th century. Admittedly its decline in status was due to penal laws, and its inadmission in court, but it was Irish people, who thought to themselves that english would automatically guarantee them wealth, and thus Irish was abandoned. They did not deem it worthy to have it as a first or second language. Remember the tally-sticks were not implemented by the national schools themselves, but by the parents.

<<<<<<<<It's the result of several hundred years under English then British rule. During much of that time, the use of English was enforced under law and Irish was discouraged as backward (much the same happened to Welsh- and Gaelic-speaking communities as well).>>>>>>

But ultimately it is a family decision to abandon a language, not a government one. You cannot affect what is going on within a home. Admittedly, laws were implemented which made Irish less attractive, even illegal at one stage, but they also were in wales, where Welsh has survived to a much greater degree. We can't keep blaming johnny foreigner on things that we could easily have rectified ourselves.

There are only three reasons why any language falls out of use:

1. Its speakers either all die out or are exterminated.

2. Its use is successfully discouraged and/or repressed.

3. It ceases to provide any viable advantage to its speakers.

These three reasons are quite often interconnected. In the case of Irish, once Ireland was within the orbit of the British Empire, the language of a relatively circumscribed agrarian people could not hope to compete against English, the language of power, commerce and advancement.

Even Welsh, which has clearly enjoyed a fairly successful nationalistic revival, still cannot hope to compete with English.

People in Wales and Ireland see a clear advantage in speaking English.

Faced with speaking a language of practical benefit to them personally or speaking a language on the esoteric grounds of culture and heritage alone, people will opt for the former every time.

That's not good news for Irish but it's a reality I'm afraid.

Yes but people can always speak both. the fact that they didn't was more to do with a stigma against the Irish langyage, i.e. they were ashamed to be able to speak it, as opposed to merely the economic advantageousness of English. The fact we do not speak it today with english, despite the opportunities we have been given is not as much to do with english economic superiority, but because many are still for one reason or another, are ashamed to learn it or sometimes, to be able to speak it.

>> are ashamed to learn it or sometimes<<

Or maybe it's because it's difficult to learn, and you're not confident in your ability to speak it well... Therefore you simply stick with English. Being nervous about speaking another language that you aren't quite fluent in is very common. For example, I can speak much better French with myself than I can to someone else. The minute I speak with someone else, it's like I've forgotten half of what I learned. I freeze up, and speak much worse.

Well it is slightly different in structure. Sometimes I look at french and english and how they nearly translate eachother word for word, and such is impossible in Irish. It has its own idiom, even word order, which is porbbaly difficult for many students. But we do learn it for most of our schooling lives so there is plenty of opportunity.