Gregory Campbell, an MP from the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, once expressed his contempt for the Irish language in six words that became infamous: “Curry my yoghurt, it can burn coals.”
He coined the absurd phrase in 2014 in an address to the Stormont Assembly to imitate and ridicule fellow nationalists who began their speeches with “go raibh maith agat, ceann comhairle”, which means “thank you, President”.
This made a fuss, but Campbell did not regret it. A later DUP conference cheered him up when he brought a pot of yogurt to the lecture and said the curry was for lunch. The message was clear: Irish was for Republicans, not trade unionists.
But eight years later, the UK government will introduce long-delayed legislation to promote and protect the Irish language – and a small, growing number of Protestants and Unionists in Northern Ireland are already learning it.
“We’ve registered nearly 300 people a year, it’s going very well, we can’t meet the demand,” said Linda Irvine, who runs Turas, an Irish language project in East Belfast, a loyal heart. “For the Protestant students who come, it’s surrounded by negativity, but they still come.”
DUP MP Gregory Campbell scornfully uttered Irish language in 2014 with the meaningless phrase: “Curry my yogurt, it can boil charcoal.” Photo: Liam McBurney / PA
A decade ago, Protestants and unionists worried about learning Irish, fearing they would be considered traitors, Irvine said. “Now instead of worrying about friends and neighbors who know they’re taking them with them.”
These classes, in an area adorned with the Queen’s professions and murals, highlight the changing destinies of a language that has been marginalized and discriminated against for centuries.
On Wednesday, Brandon Lewis, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, is due to present the Identity and Language Bill (Northern Ireland) in Westminster to recognize and protect the Irish and encourage the Ulster Scots.
It will give Irish official status, allow the use of Irish in the courts, set up two commissioners plus an identity and cultural expression service and provide £ 4 million to An Ciste Infheistíochta Gaeilge, an Irish investment fund. “This bill represents an important step in defining a new cultural framework,” Lewis said.
Irish-speaking activists welcomed the legislation and called for its swift implementation. “Now this is the immediate litmus test for the British government. “Having legislation is one thing, acting on it is the real test,” Conchur O’Muadai of the Conradh na Gaeilge language group told the BBC. “Without these immediate actions, this legislation will not be worth the paper on which it is written.
Irish-speaking activists hold a rally in Belfast. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Political battles will continue. Some unions last year celebrated the blockade of what would be the first Irish-language pre-school in Belfast. Many accuse Sinn Fein of “arming” the Irish in a broader push for a united Ireland. The Nationalist Parties and the Centrist Alliance say the Irish should have a similar official position to that of Welsh and Scottish Gaelic, bringing Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the United Kingdom.
For more than a decade, the UK government and even the DUP, as part of power-sharing agreements, have made promises of official recognition just so nothing happens. There are fears that Stormont’s lack of executive power – which the DUP is boycotting – could hamper law enforcement.
But there is a sense of inertia. Last weekend, more than 10,000 people marched through downtown Belfast under the banner of An Dream Dearg, an Irish language campaign, to demand “cearta, cothromas agus cóir” (rights, respect and recognition). Cinemas show An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl), a drama hailed as a breakthrough for Irish-language films.
“I hope the legislation will change things, but I think this is just the beginning,” Irvine said. “We hope that people will show respect for the language and see that it cannot be isolated.”
Some of her students come because they are curious about the noise around Irish, others want to learn the origins of place names, and still others enjoy the language challenge.
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“This is the original language of the country and it deserves to be kept alive only for this reason. It could disappear if it is not maintained, “said Mildred Bass, a 72-year-old retired civil servant who began attending classes last year.
Paul Taylor, 56, who runs a catering business, said the language belongs to everyone. “It existed before Protestants and Catholics, before Christianity, before the border, this is something we all share. This is something that can and should unite people. “
Taylor, who is apolitical and of both Protestant and Unionist backgrounds, said the classes had a deep connection to the language. “I am really proud to be learning Irish and what we are doing here. It gave me something really positive, a cultural basis that I lacked. “
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