The Irish Language Act angered the Guardian, made a man threaten a sign and could bring direct rule back to Northern Ireland.
Irish Twitter users have been calling out British newspaper The Guardian over an editorial in which it was claimed that Northern Irish Gaelic speakers were only using the language “to antagonise unionists.”
Reacting to DUP leader, Arlene Foster’s call for direct rule in Northern Ireland after a power sharing agreement could not be reached with Sinn Féin primarily due to the Irish Language Act, the editorial sparked anger in its criticism of said.
“The darker truth here is that Sinn Féin has chosen to weaponise [the Gaelic language] for political ends, less to protect a minority than to antagonise unionists.”
Pointing out that Gaelic is the main tongue of only 0.2% of the North’s population, while 10% “claim to understand it to some degree (perhaps a few phrases)”, it went on to say that Sinn Féin was purposefully using it as a “weapon of tribalism”.
Accusing the party of being pointlessly provocative in its demand for Irish to be protected as a minority language, these claims were immediately leapt upon by writer and podcast host, Seamas O’Reilly.
Taking to Twitter, O’Reilly said: “Why on earth should we indulge the whims of people so systemically racist that they are ‘antagonised’ by people speaking their native language in their own country? Why should that kind of small mindedness be taken as a given?”
1. This is truly, truly dreadful from the @guardian Why on earth should we indulge the whims of people so systemically racist that they are "antagonised" by people speaking their native language in their own country? Why should that kind of small-mindedness be taken as a given? pic.twitter.com/xrrpQIewQi
— The author, Séamas O'Reilly (@shockproofbeats) February 16, 2018
Calling the editorial “racist” in its use of language, he went on to say “there is NO non-racist reason to find spoken Irish provocative or antagonistic.”
2. "Weaponisation" "provocation" "tribalism" "antagonising" – words used by racists scrambling to justify their racism.
Say whatever you want about the costs/practicalities of road signs etc, but there is NO non-racist reason to find spoken Irish provocative or antagonistic.
— The author, Séamas O'Reilly (@shockproofbeats) February 16, 2018
3. And how the fuck does an adult cite THE PERILOUSLY LOW NUMBER OF IRISH SPEAKERS as an argument AGAINST basic acts of language preservation?
I look forward to @guardian's attack on environmentalists: "Pandas account for 0.000001% of mammals; protecting them is antagonistic". pic.twitter.com/Uapdbc5paw
— The author, Séamas O'Reilly (@shockproofbeats) February 16, 2018
4. We must always understand the hardline anti-Irish voter's hatreds. We must learn to cherish and protect them. We must hug our local bigot.
And we must expect nothing in return. For while bonfires and marches are culture, speaking Irish is antagonistic, tribal posturing.
— The author, Séamas O'Reilly (@shockproofbeats) February 16, 2018
5. Again and again we get this infantilisation of the Northern Irish bigot in the English press. NI bigots are a protected species; childlike innocents held to an altogether different standard than the English racist who, surely, could change his mind if he wanted to.
— The author, Séamas O'Reilly (@shockproofbeats) February 16, 2018
6. The NI bigot, with its sloping brow and booming voice, isn't like the English racist. No, they're an inscrutable, even charming, local tribe.
Their racism is intrinsic, not learned, and we must not judge for they surely lack the necessary internal complexity to change or grow
— The author, Séamas O'Reilly (@shockproofbeats) February 16, 2018
Britishness needs 'oneness'
-one empire
-one realm
-one nation
-one parliament
-one language… but Irish was the language of Ireland centuries before there was Britishness.
Loyalists choose to see it as divisive, and the Guardian isn't helping. We need more diversity.
— huwc y diwc 🇪🇺 (@diwc69) February 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/CrashScreen/status/964480841337462784
While calling for direct rule from the British government, Foster said in her statement: “We have attempted to find a stable and sustainable basis for restoring devolution. Those discussions have been unsuccessful. Despite our best efforts, serious and significant gaps remain between ourselves and Sinn Fein especially on the issue of the Irish language.”
“I have made it consistently clear that unionists will not countenance a stand alone or free standing Irish Language Act. Sinn Fein’s insistence on a stand alone Irish Language Act means that we have reached an impasse.
“As far back as last summer, I outlined my party’s willingness to reach an accommodation on language and cultural issues. However, I indicated that any such accommodation must be fair, balanced and capable of commanding support on all sides of our community. At the moment, we do not have a fair and balanced package.”
The Act, which seeks to protect the Irish language as a minority language in Northern Ireland came under much criticism with former UKIP leader and member of the Ulster Unionist Party, David McNarry insisting that he would step over any laws in place to tear down any Gaelic signs erected on his street.
Foster’s announcement prompted Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to express his “regret”, saying: “Power sharing and working together are the only way forward for Northern Ireland. The Tainaiste and the Secretary of State are in close contact and we will continue to confer with the British Government about the next steps.”
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