How Many Speak Irish?
When talking about Irish-speakers it is important to distinguish between those who can speak Irish and those do speak it. A further distinction can be made between those whose use of Irish is limited because most of the people they come into contact with aren’t fluent, and those who use Irish for most purposes. The following figures are intended to refer to the number of people who use Irish as their normal, every day language. The 1926 census figure of 540,802 Irish-speakers is accepted as accurate by most academics. Later census figures became inaccurate because people who had low levels of ability and use started to register themselves as Irish-speakers. The number of people living in the Gaeltacht is an unreliable indicator. When the official boundaries of the Gaeltacht were last defined (in 1956), many English-speaking areas were included so that they would qualify for government grants. Since then, the position of the Irish language has been further seriously eroded. In 1990 Hind
