Conway Mill Trust

The two official languages of the Republic of Ireland are Irish and English.  Ireland was almost entirely Irish speaking in the 16^th Century; and even in the 17^th Century some of Gaelic’s best ballad poetry was being composed and performed. The formation after Cromwell of an English upper class encouraged the widespread use of English.  In the 19^th Century the Irish language suffered from the establishment of National Schools where only English was taught and from the Great Hunger which affected the areas that were traditionally rooted in Irish culture and language.