Ireland’s awe-inspiring Cliffs of Moher attract more than a million visitors annually to their sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, but I also paid close attention to the road signs during my recent trip. The directional signs marking the landscape were written in two languages — English and a second language that was unfamiliar to me. I would later learn that it was Irish, with the Cliffs of Moher also bearing the name Aillte an Mhothair (meaning “cliffs of ruin,” referring to the relics of a nearby stone fort). As I ventured deeper into Ireland, I encountered more traces of this ancient language and its centuries-old connection to Gaelic.
To understand the bond between Gaelic and Irish, we must turn back the clock a few thousand years to the Celtic people of ancient Ireland. Celtic is a family of languages that flourished in the British Isles for 1,000 years, from around 500 BCE to 500 CE. The Celtic language family is divided into two branches: Britonic (Welsh, Cornish, and Breton) and Gaelic (Scottish Gaelic, Manx, and Irish). Irish, as a member of the Gaelic family, is sometimes called “Irish Gaelic” or just “Gaelic” in Ireland. This distinction can confuse non-native speakers and tourists, such as myself, but for clarity, we’ll call it “Irish.”
Two national languages coexist in Ireland: English and Irish. As one of the oldest written languages in the world, Irish became widespread across the island by the fifth century. Its influence spread further to Scotland and the Isle of Man with the rise of Christianity, which is why Scottish Gaelic and Manx share many linguistic features. The three Gaelic languages are almost identical when spoken.
Much like the English language’s evolution through Old, Middle, and Modern, Irish also underwent four defining stages: Ancient, Old, Middle, and Modern. However, by the 19th century, Modern Irish was on the brink of extinction due to political and social turmoil. It was saved by the founding of the Republic of Ireland in 1922, which sparked a national renaissance, leading to the celebration of Irish culture and the revitalization of the language.
Today, Irish is spoken by about 1.9 million people in three main dialects: Ulster (north), Connacht (west), and Munster (south). Many streets and signs across Ireland proudly display both English and Irish, a nod to the nation’s rich heritage. Beyond signage, plenty of Irish words have made their way into everyday English, including “smithereens,” “bard” (as in “poet”), “craggy,” “hubbub,” “banshee,” “divot,” “shamrock,” and — last but certainly not least — “whiskey.” This ancient language has survived thousands of years of reinvention and made a lasting impact on the English language.
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