Unionists oppose historic change for Irish speakers

The repeal of a centuries-old British law designed to oppress Catholics and eliminate the Irish language from the island of Ireland has been described as a “regressive” move by hardline unionists.

The removal of one of the infamous penal laws will allow the Irish language to be used in courts in the north of Ireland for the first time since 1737.

A plan to allow the use of Irish in court was contained in the derailed ‘New Decade New Approach’ deal in January 2020. It required the repeal of one of the penal laws which were used to subjugate the Gaelic-speaking native Irish, setting out as “a criminal offence to use any language other than English” in court.

Despite such legislation being scrapped in England, Wales and Scotland, the law somehow remained on the books in the north of Ireland. According to British officials, the Direct Ruler Hilary Benn has now signed an order which repeals the act.

President of Conradh na Gaeilge, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, said this was “a historic and monumental achievement for the Irish-speaking community in the north”.

In a statement, he said: “It took the indomitable efforts of the Irish-speaking community and their movement for language rights, which inspired over 20,000 people to take to the streets, to bring us closer to a society where the Irish-speaking community would have equality and equal rights with everyone else.

“The Irish language must have equal status in all our public and shared spaces. That is our definition of equality.

“Now that the 1737 ban is about to be repealed, it is up to the Executive to ensure and provide that fair, rights-based provision for the Irish language community in our legal spaces, based on best practice.”

Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said the move showed the historical context in which the revival of the Irish language is taking place.

“The reason we need a revival is because Irish was identified as the chief target in the colonial process,” he said.

He said there was a deliberate process to try to make Irish extinct.

“We need to understand where we’ve come from, to understand the particular nature of the support that we need,” he said.

The Irish language group said it had reached out to Six County Minister Naomi Long, whose department will be responsible for implementing a new policy for the Irish language in the courts.

Sinn Féin assembly member Aisling Reilly described the repeal of the law as “a hugely significant moment for Gaels in the north”.

“For Irish speakers, this is another positive step in the right direction as the energetic revival of the language continues at pace,” she added.

Speaking on BBC Radio, lawyer Niall Murphy said that “today is a momentous day”.

He added that the penal laws were “a very regressive, malicious set of laws”.

“That it has taken almost 300 years to have that struck from the statutory record is lamentable but we have to welcome the positives and today is a very positive day for the Irish speaking community.”

He said it now falls to Naomi Long to introduce guidelines that facilitate Irish speakers in the courts.

“This announcement from the British government is a major milestone in the ongoing journey towards comprehensive language rights for Irish speakers here in the north,” Mr Murphy said.

“It is now imperative that the justice minister brings forward robust guidelines that recognises the ever-growing community of Irish speakers across our society and facilitates their inclusion in our legal services and spaces.”

While most politicians welcomed the move, the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister criticised it.

He said it would lead to the legal profession becoming a “cold house for unionists”.

“The repeal of the ban on Irish in our courts is a regressive move in terms of equality, justice and finances,” he said.

Urgent Appeal