Did you know?

Irish was the predominant language of the Irish people but went into decline from the 16th century onwards due mainly to British rule, famine and emigration.

The Irish brought their language with them to Scotland and the Isle of Man, where it gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx.

Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx are referred to as Goidelic languages and are part of the Q-Celtic division of the Celtic languages. Speakers of the three languages can understand each other reasonably well but cannot understand speakers of the so-called P-Celtic languages: Welsh, Cornish and Breton.