Among other things, "bleedingobvious" wrote this back in May:

"...How many tv programmes go out in gaelic? ... Oh get real everyone!"

For what it's worth, when I was traveling in Ireland in August '03, I watched a half-hour Irish-language "Dating Game"-type TV show one evening in my B&B bedroom in County Clare. Couldn't understand a word, but found the spectacle completely fascinating anyway.

While it's probably certain that the Irish tongue will never re-emerge to replace English as the everyday language of Ireland, the worldwide effort to keep it alive is, at the very least, quite impressive. No, you don't *need* to learn Irish to travel in Ireland, but it's awe-inspiring to contemplate how many people *want* to learn.