The Irish language originated in Ireland and was historically the dominant language of the Irish people. Since the Early Middle Ages, it spread to a number of other countries; in Scotland and on the Isle of Man it gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx, respectively. Irish was the language that a large number of emigrants took with them from the 17th century (when large-scale emigration, forced or otherwise, became noticeable) to the 19th century, when emigration reached new levels.A detailed view of the linguistic geography may be found in Fitzgerald, Garret, 'Estimates for baronies of minimal level of Irish-speaking amongst successive decennial cohorts, 117-1781 to 1861–1871,' pp.117–155, Volume 84, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. His analysis of the 19th century census figures relating to Irish shows that the language remained very strong in the south-west (Munster) and west (Connacht) until towards the end of the century. He remarks, furthermore, that for the decennial periods of 1841–51, 1851–61 and 1861–71, the results are in all likelihood an underestimate (extrapolations included): p.118.
By the 19th century, English became dominant in Ireland, but Irish speakers had already shown their ability to deal with modern political and social changes through their own language at a time when emigration was strongest."Evidence of Irish speakers participating in the shaping of eighteenth- and nineteenth century cultural and political processes demonstrates to the contrary that this was a speech community that, so long as it existed, was fully capable of negotiating the changes shaping the Ireland that emerged at century's end". Wolf, Nicholas M. An Irish-Speaking Island: State, Religion, Community, and the Linguistic Landscape in Ireland, 1770–1870. The University of Wisconsin Press (2014): p. 273.
The Irish diaspora mainly settled in English-speaking countries, chiefly Britain and North America (US and Canada). In some instances the Irish language was retained for several generations. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to which the Irish went in large numbers, and those emigrants came in the 19th century from areas where Irish was already in retreat.
An interest in the language has persisted among a minority in the diaspora countries, and even in countries where there was never a significant Irish presence. This has been shown in the founding of language classes (including some at tertiary level), in the use of the Internet, and in contributions to journalism and literature.
Britain
Irish speakers of all social classes were to be found in early modern Britain. Irish beggars were common in 16th century England, and from the late 16th century many unskilled Irish labourers settled in Liverpool, Bristol and London. Aristocratic Irish speakers included the Nugent brothers, members of Ireland's "Old English" community: Christopher Nugent, 6th Baron Delvin, who wrote an Irish-language primer for Elizabeth I, and William Nugent, an Irish language poet who is known to have been at Oxford in 1571.De Brún, Pádraig; Ó Buachalla, Breandán; Ó Concheanainn, Tomás (eds.). Nua-Dhuanaire: Cuid 1. Institiúid Ardléinn Bhaile Átha Cliath 1975, p. 179. Shakespeare's plays contain one line in Irish, "Caleno custore me" in Act IV Scene 4 of Henry V. This was the title of a traditional song in Irish, Is Cailín ó Chois tSiúre mé ("I'm a young girl from the bank of the Suir").
Irish speakers were among the troops brought over from Ireland during the English Civil War. Language and cultural differences were partly responsible for the great hostility they encountered in England. Among them were troops commanded by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin and who followed him when he later sided with Parliament.Stoyle, Mark. Soldiers and Strangers: An Ethnic History of the English Civil War. Yale University Press 2005, pp. 62–70.
Large-scale Irish immigration, including many Irish speakers, began with the building of canals from the 1780s and of railways in the nineteenth century. More Irish settled in industrial towns in Lancashire in the late eighteenth century than in any other county. Many Irish were attracted to Birmingham in the mid-1820s by rapid industrial expansion. The city had large households of Irish speakers, often from the same parts of counties Mayo, Roscommon, Galway and Sligo. In Manchester a sixth of the family heads were Irish by 1835. By the 1830s Irish speakers were to be found in Manchester, Glasgow and the larger towns of South Wales. Friedrich Engels heard Irish being spoken in the most crowded areas of Manchester in 1842.Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845: Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987), p. 124 Irish speakers from counties Roscommon, Galway and Mayo were also to be found in Stafford from the 1830s.Camp, pp. 8–10
The Great Famine of the later 1840s brought an influx of Irish speakers to England, Wales and Scotland. Many arrived from such counties as Mayo, Cork, Waterford and Limerick to Liverpool, Bristol, and the towns of South Wales and Lancashire, and often moved on to London. Navvies found work on the South Wales Railway. There are reports of Irish-speaking communities in some quarters of Liverpool in the Famine years (1845–52).Nic Craith, Máiréad; Leyland, Janet, 'The Irish language in Britain: A case study of North West England,' Language, Culture and Curriculum, Volume 10, Issue 3, 1997, pp. 171–185. DOI: 10.1080/07908319709525250 Irish speakers from Munster were common among London immigrants, with many women speaking little or no English. Around 100,000 Irish had arrived in London by 1851. The Irish Nationalist politician and lawyer A.M. Sullivan described an 1856 visit to the industrial "Black Country" of the West Midlands where "in very many of the houses not one of the women could speak English, and I doubt that in a single house the Irish was not the prevalent language".Quoted by Denis Gwynn, "The Irish Immigration", in The English Catholics—1850–1950, ed. G. Andrew Beck (London: Burns Oates, 1950), pp. 267–68.
The Gaelic Revival in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century led to formation of branches of the Gaelic League abroad, including British cities. There were three branches of the Gaelic League in Glasgow by 1902 and a branch was also founded in Manchester.
In the aftermath of the Second World War there were a large number of Irish working in Britain as construction workers, rebuilding destroyed cities, and as nurses. Many of them, both in provincial towns and in London, were from the Gaeltachtaí, and Irish was commonly heard on building sites, in Irish pubs, and in dance halls.Mac Amhlaigh, Dónall. Dialann Deoraí. An Clóchomhar Tta 1960. The standard autobiographical account of an Irish navvy's life in the period in question.
While rebuilding the bombed damaged cities of postwar Britain, Dónall Mac Amhlaigh, a native of Barna, Connemara, kept an Irish-language diary, which he published as, Dialann Deoraí. It was translated into English by Valentine Iremonger and published in 1964 under the title An Irish Navvy: The Diary of an Exile.
The Irish language scene in Great Britain is equally important due to their influence upon Brian Stowell, one of the driving forces behind the ongoing Manx Gaelic language and literary revival. While living in Liverpool, Stowell attended Irish language classes arranged by Conradh na Gaeilge, as he felt that they were "the next best thing to Manx." Stowell ultimately became fluent in Irish and taught classes in the language in Liverpool, although not without difficulty during the Troubles:And when the troubles came in Northern Ireland it was a bit difficult because people threatened the office in Liverpool about the class in Irish and it was....well they had to laugh in the end because I said, 'Change the name to Celtic Studies,' and they did that and they made other threats because they thought that was the football club Celtic in Glasgow. Stowell eventually used his experience learning and teaching Irish to translate the Irish language course Buntús Cainte into Manx, which became Bunneydys for the Manx language learning community.
London
Irish immigrants were a notable element of London life from the early seventeenth century. They engaged in seasonal labour and street selling, and became common around St Giles in the Fields during the eighteenth century, being prominent among the London poor. Many of them were discharged soldiers. The Old Bailey trial records give a glimpse of the use of Irish in London backstreets, including an instance where a court interpreter was required (1768).
The first Irish colony was in St Giles in the Fields and Seven Dials. By the early nineteenth century Irish communities existed in Whitechapel, Saffron Hill, Poplar and Southwark, and especially in Marylebone. Typical occupations were hawking and costermongering. Henry Mayhew estimated in the 1850s that around 10,000 Irish men and women were so employed. The writer and linguist George Borrow gives an account (1851) of his father venturing into the Irish-speaking slums of London in the early years of the nineteenth century.
The use of the language was affected by a decline in the number of immigrants. By the middle of the nineteenth century the Irish-born numbered around 109,000 individuals (4.5% of Londoners). By 1861 their number had fallen to 107,000, in 1871 to 91,000, and in 1901 to 60,000.
Among the Irish-speaking community in Victorian era London was the prolific poet Tomás 'an tSneachta' Ó Conchubair (born 1798 in County Cork), whose literary translation of Book I of John Milton's Paradise Lost into Modern Irish was made c.1860. After long being believed to have been lost, the original manuscript was located at the Rare Book and Manuscript Collection of the University of Illinois in 2024.Irish Translation of "Paradise Lost" Found in University of Illinois Collection, The Irish Times, 22 May 2024.
The Gaelic League was active in London as elsewhere. The London branch, which included Art Ó Briain among its members, was involved in the publication of Irish-language material.
Irish language in contemporary Britain In response to the 2021 UK census, 736 respondents in England and Wales indicated that Irish was the "main language" of the household.
The Gaelic League retains a presence in Britain, with branches in Glasgow (first founded in 1895) and in England. The Irish-language school, Coláiste na nGael (founded in 2000) runs language classes and also "promotes and encourages the use of Irish in England". There is also an Irish language scene in Manchester and a local group, the Manchester Irish Language Group, is involved in organising classes, events and festivals. The British Association for Irish Studies (established 1985) aims to support Irish cultural activities, the study of Ireland in Britain and promotion of the Irish language.
North America
Irish people brought the language with them to North America as early as the 17th century (when it is first mentioned). In the 18th century it had many speakers in Pennsylvania. Immigration from Irish-speaking counties to America was strong throughout the 19th century, particularly after the Great Famine of 1840s, and many manuscripts in Irish came with the immigrants.The cultural and linguistic contexts are discussed in: Ó hAnnracháin, Stiofán (ed.), 1979. Go Meiriceá Siar. An Clóchomhar Tta, Baile Átha Cliath; Ihde, Thomas W. (ed.), 1994. The Irish Language in the United States: a historical, sociolinguistic and applied linguistic survey. Bergin & Garvey.