While there seems to be an increased interest in and goodwill towards the Irish language, little has been done in terms of policy to capitalise on this resurgence in terms of concrete long-term policy. Instead, existing failings, such as a housing crisis and lack of investment in Gaeltacht areas, lacklustre Irish-language government services, and a lack of ambition within the Irish education system have become impossible to ignore. However, one area which has not received as much attention is the higher education sector, despite the immense potential for positive effects in terms of the multiplier effect investment in it could yield for the Irish language in the future.
I realise that there is a certain irony in me writing this article in English. As such, I would note that whilst Irish-language discourse on Irish-medium higher education is somewhat sparse, English-language discourse is practically non-existent. This article is an attempt to articulate this point of view to an anglophone readership. In the past fifty years, there has been a significant increase in Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht at primary and post-primary levels. Nevertheless, as of 2022 only 0.68% of third-level students in Ireland are in courses either fully or partly taught through the medium of Irish, of which the vast majority are studying the Irish language itself. This implies an outlook that the only thing that can be studied through Irish at third level is Irish itself, thus constraining the domains in which it can be used, both in reality and in people’s perceptions of it.
One may ask, perhaps not unfairly, why Irish-medium higher education should be pursued, or whether it is even possible. Irish is a minoritised language in our current context, which might render such a project difficult to even imagine. To this, I raise the Welsh example. In 2011, Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol was established by the Welsh government as a body which promotes, funds, and supports efforts to expand and broaden the scope of university education through the medium of Welsh, having a presence on many campuses throughout the country. On its website, Coleg has a course finder which allows prospective students to search for courses with modules or aspects which can be undertaken through the medium of Welsh. Some courses are entirely available through the medium of Welsh, whilst others are only partially available through Welsh. The range of courses publicised through this system vary widely, from medicine and mathematics to history and the Welsh language itself.
This system’s purpose is to create a cohort of graduates from Welsh universities who are able to undertake their work through Welsh once they enter the workforce, and can be seen in the context of the Welsh government’s longer term goals to reach 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. This plan requires the creation of the necessary societal infrastructure out of which a truly bilingual society can emerge. Parallels can be drawn with the Irish government’s significantly less ambitious target that 20% of new hires to the public sector be capable of undertaking their work through Irish by 2030.
Simply put, these language targets are wishful thinking without significant third-level educational infrastructure in place. A wide range of university courses must be made available through Irish in a range of fields. Although there might be individual exceptions, the comparatively small number of Irish graduates cannot be expected to work in Irish in fields unrelated to academic study of the Irish language. Similarly, graduates in other fields cannot be expected to suddenly be able to do their work through Irish, especially in technical fields with precise terminology. One service that Coleg offers is a compilation of Welsh-language terminology to be used in third-level education, allowing for standardised terminology in technical fields of study. In Ireland, University College Cork offers an Irish-language module to medical students, one of whose aims is to enable students to use Irish in the medical context, using the appropriate terminology. This, however, seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
Whilst the Welsh model can teach us a lot, we also need a better understanding of how this model can be translated into an Irish context, and the limited ways in which higher education through Irish has already been implemented. In the University of Galway, Dr. Fintan Hegarty has worked on the provision of STEM education through the medium of Irish. The University of Galway has a strong tradition of Irish-English bilingualism, having provided courses such as history, chemistry, and philosophy through Irish in the middle of the twentieth century. Both Dr. Hegarty’s work and historical examples provide a model on how this can be achieved in the Irish context. One could look towards an incremental model, whose first steps could include elective Irish-medium tutorial classes in modules otherwise taught through English, or specific modules being taught through Irish in otherwise English-medium courses, as is done in many courses in Wales.
Finally, I would like to come back to the question of why pursuing higher education through Irish is worthwhile. Yes, the Irish language has enjoyed a level of resurgence and cultural relevance in recent years, and this is something to be welcomed. However, it means little in the way of lasting impact if we do not capitalise on this newfound goodwill. I return to the establishment of Irish-medium primary and post-primary education outside the Gaeltacht. This movement started in earnest in the 1970s, even in places where such schools would have been difficult to imagine. I remember the story of Gaelscoil Bhaile Munna, whose establishment involved a working-class community coming together to demand Irish-medium education for their children. They were rebuffed by the Department of Education, with one employee of the department telling a community organiser “you can’t speak English in Ballymun, why ye looking for Irish?” In many areas Irish-medium primary and post-primary education seemed unimaginable, impossible even, until it was achieved. Irish-medium further and higher education might also seem improbable and impractical, but as examples from both our own Irish context and the Welsh context show, it is eminently doable.
