Thousands of red-clad protesters marched through the streets of Belfast on Saturday afternoon to call for the protection of the Irish language.
Large crowds of Irish-speaking families, community groups and sports clubs marched through the city of Belfast demanding “recognition of language, respect and rights” and called on the UK government to implement the Irish language law, as promised in -early.
The An Lá Dearg protest started from Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich and headed to the City Hall of Belfast, where speakers and singers addressed the crowd.
Five-year-old Daiti McGaban was among those who addressed the protesters in the town hall. Other speakers included Katie Irvine, an Irish youth worker from Glór na Móna, and Dónal Ó Cnáimhí from Gaoth Dobhair Gaeltacht in Co Donegal.
Protesters’ cries include a call for the Irish Language Act and recitals of Irish phrases such as “tír gan teanga, tir gan anam”, which translates as “a country without language is a country without a soul”.
The An Dream Dearg campaign network – which translates as the “red band” – organized another An Lá Dearg protest in Belfast in 2017, which also attracted large crowds.
Spokesman Conchúr Ó Muadaigh said on Saturday that they were “amazed” by the level of support shown and said it was “the largest demonstration of Irish in a generation”.
Dream Dearg built a mass movement that pushed the Irish language from the periphery to the very center of political and civic discourse both here and internationally, a movement that told the truth of power and ensured that our community would no longer be treated as citizens second class, marginalized or excluded. Those days are gone forever.
“The Irish language law is long overdue. “Our community cannot and should not be made to wait any longer for the same language rights that the citizens of these islands enjoy,” he said.
Campaign activist Clíondhna Ní Mhianáin said after being told in 2014 that they could not have a new Irish high school in Derry, a public campaign led to the opening of the Gaelcholáiste Dhoire in 2015 with 13 students.
“Now almost 300 students have entered our doors and as a member of the group from the first year, I am now finishing my journey. None of this would be possible without a public campaign for equality and rights, without Irish speakers demanding better, demanding the Irish Language Act.
Councilor Mal O’Hara, deputy leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, tweeted the protest, saying it was “great to see thousands of activists go down to town hall, calling for compliance with agreements reached years ago”.
He said, “You shouldn’t. We have a duty to promote and protect the languages of indigenous peoples and minorities. “
He added that Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis “should do it”.
Legislative protection of the Irish language in Northern Ireland was a key element of the agreement for the new decade, a new approach that restored power-sharing in January 2020 after a three-year stalemate.
Former Sinn Fein president Gary Adams at the An Lá Dearg event in Belfast on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Bayview media / An Lá Dearg
They have been included in a wider package of cultural laws, which include the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression to Promote Respect for Diversity, as well as the Irish Language Commissioner and the Commissioner for the Development of Language, Arts and Literature in the Ulster Scotland tradition. Great Britain. .
Implementation of the package is stalled amid ongoing political disputes over the issue.
Last June, the UK government promised to pass legislation in Westminster to break the deadlock between Sinn Fein and the DUP on its introduction into the Stormont Assembly.
However, the government failed to submit a bill before the October self-imposed deadline.
During a visit to Northern Ireland on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to complete the cultural package in the coming weeks. – BCP
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