This paper examines the history of Irish language broadcasting since the foundation of the Irish state in 1922. It outlines how the role of Irish in the broadcast media has always been determined by the wider social and political landscape, and the changing conceptions of what constitutes Irish national identity. The initial aim of complete language revitalization gradually gave way to a policy of marginalization. It was only relatively recently that Irish has been officially recognized as a minority language, and this in turn has enabled the language and its users to reconsider themselves in a more political light. This is especially noteworthy in the field of broadcasting where a number of initiatives have instilled a sense of democratic participation amongst Irish-speakers in a public sphere hitherto dominated by English.
Irish language and public broadcasting
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