Éanna’s ancestral language is Irish, one of the Celtic languages alongside Cornish, Manx, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Breton. Though Irish “skipped” a generation in his family, Éanna is learning to speak it today.

Irish is spoken by as many as 2 million people, primarily in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is an Insular Celtic language in the Goidelic (Gaelic) group. Irish is closely related to Scottish Gaelic and Manx, and distantly to Brittonic languages. Irish was the primary language of Ireland until it was displaced by English over the 17th and 18th centuries under British rule. Since the late 1900s, a revival movement has emerged, with nearly 60% of speakers having learned the language as adults.

Irish is still spoken as a first language in the counties Galway, Kerry, Cork, and Donegal, and some parts of Northern Ireland. Irish is the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland, a minority language in Northern Ireland, and recognized fully by the EU. It is taught in Irish schools, has a strong literary tradition, and is used in public discourse.

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