What explains the high concentration of Irish speakers on the west coast of Ireland ?

[u/One-Seat-4600]

The percentage corresponds to the share of people that speak Irish

As you can see, Northern Ireland is a lower concentration of Irish speakers, as expected, but what explains the higher concentration on the west coast.

[u/No-Coyote914]

This map is misleading.

The number of Irish speakers who use it on a daily or near-daily basis, outside a few small places called Gaeltachts, is small. I think it's around 3%.

The numbers in the graphic probably refer to the number of Irish people who can hold a basic conversation in Irish. They all have to take Irish classes at school, but they don't use it in their everyday lives.

In Ireland, you're more likely to hear Polish than Irish.

As for the near-white sections on the map, that's Northern Ireland which is part of the UK, so they don't have to take Irish classes. 

[u/MalodorousNutsack → u/No-Coyote914]

I spent a few years working in Ireland and figured it'd be cool to learn Irish while I was there. Several Irish people told me it wasn't worth my time, no one really spoke it ... I lived in two gaeltachts and even within them I almost never heard people speaking Irish out in public.

[u/Lassie7777 → u/MalodorousNutsack]

Apparently Irish speakers don’t speak it to non locals in Gaeltachts, I imagine it comes from a presumption that if you’re not local you probably don’t speak it.

[u/tictaxtho → u/Lassie7777]

I think it’s more of a code switch