Ireland is officially bilingual - Irish and Englishare both spoken, however English is the predominant language of the country. In 2005 the Irish language was awarded official EU status. By law all publications by the Irish Government (the Oireachtas) and the EU must be published in both languages. And for children in the Republic of Ireland, Irish is an obligatory subject at school.

Gaeltacht regions are communities where the Irish language is spoken as a primary language. These regions are predominantly in countiesDonegal, Galway, Kerry and Cork. There have been huge efforts by these communities to preserve the language and the traditions of these regions. Dedicated Irish language media - most notably TV channel TG4 and radio station Raidió na Gaeltachta - have brought the language to a new generation.

To find out more about the language, and for a helpful phrase or two, check out Speaking Gaelic Irish.