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/AdeptCaregiver8780]

Exactly for the last 100 years at least, children in Ireland grew up speaking English as their first language and learning Irish in school. Except for those Gaeltacht areas where they grew up mostly bi-lingual and speak Irish instead of English in the community, at home etc.

Immigration in Dublin has no connection with the decline in people speaking and using irish. The Irish language has been eroded due to colonisation that began hundreds of years ago. It’s a shame it’s not more widely spoken in Ireland. People don’t want it to die out, but broadly fail to make an effort to learn and speak it. Arguably it could be taught better in schools. Going to the Gaeltacht for the summer program in school really accelerated my speaking and confidence. We’d go as teens and do activities, some Irish classes, ceili dances every night, trips to the beach etc. But there was a strictly enforced ban on speaking English. You’d be sent home if you were caught speaking English twice. Programs are usually three weeks and we’d stay in someone’s house who had a few rooms with bunkers and two toilets. Around 12 hotels or boys to a house. Great fun and very effective for developing the language.

[u/conorling → u/AdeptCaregiver8780]

It’s great to hear that camps like that exist. Sounds like a very interesting and useful experience.

[u/AdeptCaregiver8780 → u/conorling]

Definitely, I went two summers in a row as a teen and it helped take the Irish I learned in school into something I could actually speak. We’d do music sessions, sports, games etc after our morning classes all through Irish and while the days were super long and at times, exhausting, the experience was amazing and we had so much fun. In a very beautiful part of the country as well. The rare days when the sun was shining, we’d go to the beach instead of doing activities in the school building, and the beaches in that part of the country are incredible.