{"id":131557,"date":"2025-10-19T06:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T06:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/131557\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T06:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T06:58:08","slug":"irish-language-draws-younger-voters-to-catherine-connolly-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/131557\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish language draws younger voters to Catherine Connolly \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even the new British ambassador is embracing the c\u00fapla focal. <\/p>\n

Introducing herself after presenting her Letters of Credence to President Michael D Higgins last week Kara Owens opened her short video on X in Irish<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDia dhaoibh. Is mise Cara Owen agus is m\u00f3r an on\u00f3ir dom m\u00e9 f\u00e9in a Chur in aithne daoibh mar ambasad\u00f3ir nua na Breataine chun na h\u00c9ireann,\u201d she said last week. (Hello, I\u2019m Kara Owen and it\u2019s my pleasure to be here today as the new British ambassador to Ireland). <\/p>\n

Her embrace of the Irish language comes as the race to decide whether President Higgins\u2019s successor<\/a> will be Heather Humphreys, who does not speak Irish, or Catherine Connolly<\/a> who speaks it fluently, enters its final days. <\/p>\n

But does fluency in Irish matter in an Irish president. And is the issue a factor in voting intentions, particularly among younger voters? In short, could her Gaeilge help swing it for Connolly?<\/p>\n

[\u00a0If Catherine Connolly wins, it means one of two thingsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s Irish Times opinion poll asked what was their \u201cmost important\u201d value in a Presidential candidate. Just three per cent said \u201cspeaks Irish\u201d. But the fact this option was included at all is significant. <\/p>\n

It was the first time the Irish language featured as an issue in an Irish Times political poll and was included, says political editor Pat Leahy, because \u201canecdotally\u201d there was evidence it was one for voters. <\/p>\n

Perhaps, if respondents were asked to name their top three values in a candidate, the Irish language might have featured more strongly. <\/p>\n

Certainly, a vox-pop in a recent Irish Times video among Trinity College students suggested it was important to them, with all those featured indicating they would vote for Catherine Connolly, and her speaking Irish was important, they said. <\/p>\n

Of ten young voters who spoke to The Irish Times in Dublin\u2019s Ilac shopping centre in recent days, two said they wouldn\u2019t vote at all. One said the Irish language was not important and did not indicate how he might vote.<\/p>\n

The seven remaining said they were voting, or leaning towards voting, for Connolly, all citing her ability to speak Irish as a factor. <\/p>\n

\"IrishIrish language lunch meet-up in Trinity. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

It was \u201cmost important\u201d for just one. Niamh O\u2019Sullivan (19) from Swords said Irish \u201cis very much\u201d an issue for her. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am leaning towards Catherine Connolly because I did hear Heather Humphrey doesn\u2019t speak [Irish]. I feel as the leader of the county you should know the national language. Imagine the head of state in Spain couldn\u2019t speak Spanish.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the Irish language nothing separates us from the British, or the Americans or the Canadians,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Michael Murphy (30) said: \u201cThe President should speak Irish, yes.\u201d It wasn\u2019t his main reason for preferring Connolly but he valued Irish. \u201cWith Kneecap and bands like that, there is a bit of a cultural movement around the language at the moment. I know in Wales they have reclaimed their language. I think Ireland should do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though friends Aidan and Sally don\u2019t believe Irish fluency is crucial in a President, they say it is important. They plan to vote for Connolly. \u201cI think we should keep our Irish, but it wouldn\u2019t be a determining factor,\u201d says Aidan (19). <\/p>\n

Back in Trinity College the Cumann Gaelach (Irish society) is hosting its weekly Anraith agus Ar\u00e1n (soup and bread). The lunch attracts about 60 students to the Seomra Gaeilge, where conversation is as Gaeilge. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe cumann has grown a lot,\u201d says reachtaire (auditor), Hugh \u00d3 Caol\u00e1in (22). The 4th year mechanical engineering student says the cumann is now \u201cone of the biggest societies\u201d with over 450 members. <\/p>\n

\"HughHugh \u00d3 Caol\u00e1in, reachtaire\/chair of Cumman Gealach. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

When asked whether young people see Irish, as this writer did in the 1980s, as boring, backward, pointless and imposed by a repressive education system, he shakes his head and laughs. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think there has been a huge mentality change. It doesn\u2019t represent conservatism any more. It\u2019s progressive. It\u2019s about non-colonialism and reclaiming our indigenous culture. A lot of young people look at the culture that was and realise such richness is being lost. <\/p>\n

\u201cHalloween, our Samhain, is now represented by plastic pumpkins. Our language and our culture is being lost to global events that have nothing to do with indigenous Irish culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

For R\u00e9ilt\u00edn N\u00ed Churn\u00e1in (20), 2nd year Spanish and History student from Rathfarnham, Dublin, Irish represents \u201ccommunity, helping one another, protecting smaller communities. <\/p>\n

\"RéiltínR\u00e9ilt\u00edn N\u00ed Churn\u00e1in, runa\u00ed\/secretary of Cumman Gealach. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking Irish I feel very tied to my identity as an Irish person, and the shared experience [with other minority language-speakers] of having to fight for the right to speak it and use it day to day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dearbhla Sacoman (21) from Co Meath, studying Irish and History of Art, \u201cabsolutely love[s] Irish\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt just feels so natural, so right. I feel connected to myself, who I am, my history, my culture, the placenames around me. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think older people understand that. Every time I talk to then they say how much they hated Irish, that it was forced on them. I think they should take a page from younger people and feel the sense of connection and community that\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n

All born since the Troubles and the decline of the Catholic Church they make no link between the Irish language and violent nationalism or moral repression. \u201cAs a gay man, I would always view Irish as a symbol of a modern progressive, non-colonial, inclusive Ireland,\u201d says P\u00f3l \u00d3 h\u00cdomhair (20) from Skerries. <\/p>\n

Far from being a \u201cuseless\u201d language, they see career opportunities aplenty due to their fluency \u2013 in the EU where it is an official language, and at home \u2013 in public bodies, the arts, media and advertising into which Government funding is flowing. <\/p>\n

All will vote for Catherine Connolly, and although not necessarily just because she speaks Irish, it is a factor. <\/p>\n

\"PólP\u00f3l \u00d3 h\u00cdomhair. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

\u201cI am left left-wing voter and couldn\u2019t imagine voting for any other candidate anyway,\u201d says \u00d3 h\u00cdomhair. \u201cI think she better represents the grass roots, understands what is happening. Her Irish-speaking aligns with that and is certainly a confirming factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osgur \u00d3 Ciardha (45), who in 2016 founded the pop-up Gaeltacht which still sees Irish speakers in their hundreds gathering in Dublin pubs, has seen Irish described as \u201ccool\u201d and \u201chaving a moment\u201d many times over the decades. <\/p>\n

\u201cSomething feels different this time,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is almost like a tsunami now. With Kneecap, [Irish-language film] An Cail\u00edn Ci\u00fain, there\u2019s a real opportunity for that all to catch and grow and run away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julian de Sp\u00e1inn, general secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge, agrees. \u201cAttitudes to the language have changed dramatically. As the world has become a smaller with travel, the internet, global brands, I think young people especially are looking to see, \u2018What identifies me as where I am from?\u2019. Language is crucial in that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Young people \u201cdo not want greenwashing, do not want LGBT-washing\u201d says \u00d3 Ciardha. \u201cThey want authenticity, something that has depth, meaning \u2013 where the mission, vision and values all align.\u201d<\/p>\n

And context is always important. \u201cSo, the end of the Troubles, the departure of the Catholic Church from the scene \u2013 all of that is allowing the Irish language to grow and become that spine of Irish identity. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople can engage in it in a coffee-book kind of way, they can go to a Gaeltacht course and learn to speak it fluently, or anything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

Echoing younger voices, they believe Irish is featuring in the Presidential race, and will increasingly be an issue for voters in other elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be at a point where the ability to speak Irish might be a key driver in young people voting for a potential President \u2013 that\u2019s huge, that\u2019s something really extraordinary,\u201d says \u00d3 Ciardha. \u201cThe cultural cringe is finally falling away. It\u2019s powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even the new British ambassador is embracing the c\u00fapla focal. Introducing herself after presenting her Letters of Credence…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,1921,18,13,14,6,19,17,26303,11,12,15,16,5,59,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-131557","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-catherine-connolly","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-irish-language","18":"tag-latest-news","19":"tag-latestnews","20":"tag-main-news","21":"tag-mainnews","22":"tag-news","23":"tag-presidential-election","24":"tag-top-stories","25":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}