The Irish Language: Dear Editor...Opinions, Policy and Practice

This paper looks at public opinion about the Irish language in the form of letters to the editor to two national Irish daily newspapers, the Irish Independent and the Irish Examiner. The opinions are measured against specific criteria in order to ascertain the level of support that exists for the Irish language amongst the letter-writing public. The content analysis focuses on the date of the letters; what letter-writers' opinions are about the Irish language generally; the length of the letters in paragraphs; the geographical location of the writers; opinions about Irish as an official working language of the European Union; opinions about the Irish language and its link to culture; and finally, what issues concerned writers. Results showed that while writers expressed a favorable attitude toward the Irish language generally, the majority of them were neutral when it came to opinion about Irish as an official working language in the European Union.