Around 12,000 people turned up in Belfast yesterday to attend a march in support for the introduction of an Irish Language Act.
This act would give Gaeilge an equal status with English, and should the act be passed, Irish would then be used by public bodies, the courts, on street signs and in the Stormont Assembly.
Irish language campaigning network An Dream Dearg organised the demonstration, insisting the legislation was promised as part of the St Andrew’s Agreement over ten years ago.
The support for the act has proven to be varied and wide, including the truly intimidating sight of Batman speaking As Gaelige:
The sister of Slaughtneil captain of Senior Camogie All-ireland winning team and star of team Eilis Ni Chaiside show her support from Machu Picchu:
Belfast actor Tony Devlin (Breakfast On Pluto)
showed his support from the Cannes Film Festival, and the Tipperary Senior hurling team gave their backing, too:
Speaking from the stage yesterday, Gaelige awareness advocate Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin said in his speech:
"The Irish speaking community are no longer in hiding and won’t accept being invisible in the backstreets and the hidden
corners of this state. We are here to stay in the centre of our cities and towns and won’t be held to ransom by those who refuse to move into the 21 st century. We have every right to take ownership of our spaces and be recognised and respected as a rich part of our diverse society."
