The Case of the Republic of Ireland and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

Mac Giolla Chriost, Diarmait ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6368-9691 2025. The Case of the Republic of Ireland and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. European Yearbook of Minority Issues Online 22 (1) , pp. 191-212. 10.1163/22116117_02201010

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

This chapter critiques the reasons why the Republic of Ireland has not signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ecrml). These reasons, namely (1) the constitutional status of the Irish language as the national and first official language; (2) ongoing discussions regarding the legal status of the Irish language under domestic law in Ireland; and (3) ongoing discussions regarding the status of Irish as a possible official and working language of the EU, are shown to no longer be obstacles. Also, the chapter shows that discussions about the ecrml and Ireland have so far excluded two other languages that qualify as regional or minority languages in the sense of the ecrml, namely Ulster-Scots and Shelta. The chapter identifies a range of theoretical scenarios for the adoption of the ecrml by Ireland, concluding that an in-depth study on the merits of signing the ecrml for Irish, Ulster-Scots, and Shelta ought to be conducted, including extensive consultation with civil society representatives, policy actors, and scholarly experts.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Welsh
Publisher:	Brill Nihoff
ISBN:	2211-6117
ISSN:	2211-6117
Last Modified:	21 May 2026 09:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187122

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item