The question is not simply how much we spend on defence, but what we understand defence and security to mean, says SIMON BRIGNELL
The housing crisis that threatens to finally destroy the Irish language
A government disinterested in making serious economic and social interventions for native speakers of the Irish language, coupled with a neoliberal housing policy, is killing off Ireland’s last Gaelic strongholds, writes MORGAN DE MOINBHIOL
Activists with the Banu campaign protest the lack of action for housing in the Gaeltacht, a major factor in erasing the heartlands of native Gaelic-speaking communities. Holiday homes, short-term rentals and Airbnb are now a major threat to the 2,500-year-old language
Given the recent rejection of peace proposals by Israel the world must provide an immediate and resolute response to force accountability on Gaza, argues RAMZY BAROUD
MARK SEDDON tries to cool off in the countryside to avoid the heatwaves but the greed and incompetence of the privatised water industry is now at boiling point
The disputed election of a far-right president, who is also a US citizen, signals further consolidation of Washington’s regional power and represents a threat to the country’s democracy and sovereignty, writes WT WHITNEY JNR
by Her Excellency Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the United Kingdom
DR STEPHEN WILKINSON assesses the life and legacy of a revolutionary giant
WITH the release of the Irish-language biopic Kneecap, the nomination of Irish-language films at recent Oscars and more and more Irish celebrities using Irish, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Irish language was in an assured and popular place.
However, the material conditions of Ireland’s 20,000 daily speakers inside its designated language districts, the Gaeltacht, starkly contrast with a language in vogue. These sharply defined conditions felt by its native speakers (especially the youth) reaffirm the urgent point laid out in the Kneecap film’s final message: a minority language dies every 40 days on this planet.
After centuries of colonial subjection and 100 years of independence in 26 of its counties, Ireland’s once nationwide majority language is now reduced to scattered regions along its most westerly coasts.
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