The Irish language

Whenever I think of the Irish language I am filled with an immense feeling of shame: shame that I cannot speak it better and that I don't use the little knowledge I have to its full effects. For despite the best attempts by teachers over the years to inculcate hatred towards it, I still love Irish. It is part of who I am. However, English is my vernacular. My desire is to attain a state of practical bilingualism. I would be able to get there, especially as I have attained such a situation with other language, but I'm lazy.

I don't like turning on the TV, because whenever I do so I am inevitably put into a bad mood. This morning I caught a panel discussion on, I think, RTE 1. Some little anally-retentive little prick with a Dublin 4 accent was complaining that "the money he paid in HIS taxes" was being spent to subsidise the Irish language. He claimed that he had nothing against the Irish language as such (apart from the fact that he couldn't speak it). Somebody pointed out that the government subsidises many groups, especially disadvantaged groups. "That's another matter entirely", though his demeanour suggested that he would be equally appalled by the notion of HIS taxes benefiting the poor or the "great unwashed."

Many crimes have been committed on the nation's youth over the years under the banner of promoting the Irish language. But times have changed. The lunatic, Hurley-wielding Gaelgoir fringe, so well parodied by the late Dermot Morgan, have now mostly gone to the great Feis in the sky. Any money spent by the government on promoting the Irish language is to be welcomed. No one forces anyone to speak a language in this country, though no doubt the prickeen would compel people to speak American English, so as to promote our business competitiveness.

There are some people I form an instant dislike to, and he was one of them. I would have loved to have given him a good, sharp, arse-kicking, only I fear that, given the location, he would derive too much pleasure from the experience.