Clifton53

Constitutionally, Irish is the "first official language" of the Irish state. English is the "second official language" - I suspect the ambiguity was quite deliberate.

In practice, Irish people's attitudes to the language vary from complete indifference to uncritical fanaticism. Somewhere in between is the typical politician who, when asked to make a speech, invariably includes the "cúpla focal" i.e. a few token phrases in Irish to stay on the right side of those who are enthusiastic about the revival of the language. That's what I mean by language tokenism. There are, of course, a few politicians who genuinely love and use the language - but they're as scarce as hen's teeth.

Regards