Image: Currach Books
This week I finished reading Gaeilge: A Radical Revolution by Caoimhín De Barra. The book does an excellent job at describing the many facets of the relationship between Ireland and the Irish language, from ancient history to modern day. De Barra debunks all of the automated responses most of us Irish have inherited about Gaeilge, such as "It's the way it is taught" and "You'd be better off learning Mandarin".
At times the narrative is somewhat repetitive and a bit too reliant on a myriad of population surveys, however despite this, the book is an enlightening read and an important flag in the ground in the quest to reevalutate our relationship with Irish. The author concludes with some recommendations as to how Irish could be revived, if the people and the state were serious about it. Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste.
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