Introduction
The Irish language has long been, and continues to be, a contentious issue in Northern Ireland (NI). Historically, there were repeated attempts to prohibit its use on the island of Ireland, such as the Act for the English Order, Habit and Language (1537), which banned Irish and mandated that education be conducted solely in English. Following partition in 1921, the Irish language experienced mixed fortunes: in the Republic of Ireland, it became the official state language, but no such status was granted in NI. On the contrary, Irish remained highly controversial. While language rights were not a central demand of the Civil Rights Movement, Irish did play a role in the NI conflict, most notably, it was used by republicans as a medium of communication, especially within prisons, and as a means of preserving Irish identity. Conversely, in the words of former Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble, the Irish language was viewed as a “cold house” for Irish nationalism, with the extension of language rights seen as a potential gateway to Irish unity.
This project, funded by the Esperantic Studies Foundation, explored the question of Irish language rights in NI and assessed their place within the region’s transitional justice (TJ) process, focusing on both the practices and the discourse surrounding language rights.
What is Transitional Justice?
Addressing past harms in the hope of producing a better future is at the heart of transitional justice. The harms which it seeks to address can be categorised in two ways; there are direct harms like death and physical injury, and there are indirect harms that manifest as societal inequalities. Reflecting the early dominance of human rights lawyers within the field, TJ initially conceptualised “transition” as a short-term period which centred on addressing direct harms through holding individuals criminally accountable for extreme acts of violence. With TJ evolving to acquire a distinctly multidisciplinary nature, “transition” has been re-conceptualised as a long-term process which requires an array of complementary mechanisms to address both direct and indirect harms. Whilst scholarly research has firmly established the importance of addressing indirect harms like economic and social inequalities within TJ processes, less attention has been afforded to addressing inequalities that exist within cultural expression such as language rights.
The Context: Northern Ireland
NI witnessed an almost 30 years armed conflict between Irish republican paramilitaries, the British State security forces, and pro-State British loyalist paramilitaries. Whilst the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement (GFBA) in 1998 signalled the end of the armed conflict, the continuous absence of any official mechanisms to ‘deal with the past’ means that the region is experiencing a prolonged transition from conflict. With a consensus on the causes, meaning and consequences of the conflict yet to be reached, profound communal segregation within housing and education continues whilst positions on contemporary socio-political issues are routinely grounded on narratives pertaining to the conflict. In short, NI’s transitional process has primarily been defined by an absence of violence (negative peace) as opposed to tangible societal transformation (positive peace).
Whilst not prominent within the armed conflict itself, Irish language rights have become increasingly prevalent in NI since the GFBA. They have been discussed in major political agreements such as the GFBA, St. Andrews Agreement 2006, Stormont House Agreement 2014, and New Decade New Approach 2020. Furthermore, the failure to implement an Irish Language Act was cited as a reason for the collapse of the NI government in 2017. The increasing presence of the Irish language has extended beyond the political sphere and into popular culture, as exemplified by the recent success of Kneecap and Irish-speaking cinema. As evident by over 12,000 taking to the streets of Belfast in 2022, the increased profile of the Irish language within the political sphere and popular culture has not only inspired people to learn the language but also to mobilise for rights surrounding it.
Irish Language Policy in NI
Language policy for Irish in NI can be extracted from two sources. The first is a series of political agreements. All parties to the GFBA recognised ‘the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity’, with the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages being referenced as rights framework for Irish ‘in particular’. In 2006, the British government committed to an Irish Language Act which would primarily serve to enhance and protect the language. This commitment was renewed in 2014 with the Stormont House Agreement. Finally, the British government promised to introduce legislation in New Decade New Approach 2020 which would create an Irish language commissioner ‘to recognise, support, protect and enhance the development of the Irish language in Northern Ireland’ as well as ‘provide official recognition of the status of the Irish Language in Northern Ireland’ and to repeal the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland) 1737 which prohibited court proceedings to be held in Irish.
The second source we can extract policy for Irish in NI is the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022. The contents of this Act directly correlate with the promises contained within New Decade New Approach. Whilst Irish has been granted official recognition status and the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland) 1737 has been repealed, the ‘competition’ to appoint an Irish Language Commissioner was only launched in March 2025, and we are still awaiting an appointment. In that, the language policy for the Irish language in NI is highly fragmented at the moment: some positive developments stand out. Irish-medium education (IME) is growing rapidly, with around 8,000 pupils across 86 schools, and Irish has even overtaken French and Spanish at GCSE and A-level. In the courts, the 1737 ban on Irish was repealed, but without a system of interpreters or legal professionals, its practical impact remains unclear. Meanwhile, healthcare provision in Ireland is still nonexistent.
Overall, NI’s language policy continues to recognise Irish on paper without embedding it into daily public life. The appointment of the Irish Language Commissioner remains pending, leaving trust fragile among campaigners. This gap between symbolic recognition and real implementation highlights what many describe as the “negative” nature of the peace process: agreements are reached, but their promises often remain unfulfilled.
Conclusion
The Irish language in NI is a great example of the challenges of TJ processes in addressing the complex interplay between culture, identity and memory in post-conflict societies. The Irish language has persisted, demonstrating resilience despite institutional neglect and intra-communal hostility. While the GFBA gave the first formal recognition to Irish, NI’s piecemeal approach to peacebuilding and unresolved legacy issues has left the language, like many aspects of Northern Irish society, in a state of “negative peace,” where structural inequalities and cultural tensions remain unaddressed. While the Identity and Language Act provides the legal grounds for Irish language rights, its delay in the implementation and the delegation of policy development to a (yet unappointed) Commissioner have left many with shaken trust in the peace process. However, the creation of the Irish Commissioner also presents new opportunities to redeem past neglect, rehabilitate the language status and promote its revitalisation through equal language policies.
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