Indo-European languages may have arrived in Ireland between 2,400 BC and 2,000 BC with the spread of the Bell Beaker culture when around 90% of the contemporary Neolithic population was replaced by … See more

The earliest written form of the Irish language is known to linguists as Primitive Irish. Primitive Irish is known only from fragments, mostly personal names, inscribed on stone … See more

Middle Irish is the form of Irish used from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English. It is the language of a large amount of literature, including the entire Ulster Cycle. See more

It is believed that Irish remained the majority tongue as late as 1800 but became a minority language during the 19th century. It is an important part of Irish nationalist identity, … See more

Old Irish first appears in the margins of Latin manuscripts as early as the 6th century. A large number of early Irish literary texts, though recorded in manuscripts of the … See more

Early Modern Irish represents a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century. The grammar of Early Modern Irish is laid out in a series of grammatical See more

In July 2003, the Official Languages Act was signed, declaring Irish an official language, requiring public service providers to make … See more