The atmosphere around the European Parliament is infectious - all the Irish MEPs contributing to debates are opening their contributions with a few words of Irish to test the system.
It has even spread to the press centre when a number of Irish language journalists are working for the week, and where most of the conversations are handled in the first language.
The Government also threw a party to mark the Irish language becoming an official language of the EU since January 1st last, when the necessary arrangements were put in place. The event even prompted the Irish EU Commissioner Charles McCreevy to dig into the past and talk about his struggle with the first official language which in his time was compulsory.
When he finished his speech which was "as Gaeilge", the commissioner said: "I haven't spoke as much Irish as that since I took my orals during my Leaving Cert."
The honour of delivering the first official cúpla focail in the chamber went to the Munster MEP Brian Crowley. His words were interpreted by Eoghan Ó Loinsigh, a freelance Irish interpreter who had been brought to Strasbourg for the occasion.
Labhras Ó Finneadha and Róisín Ní Úrdal, the official EU Irish translators who will translate all important documents into Irish were at the party, with the EU's newest legal linguist, Fionnula Croker, who will supervise the legality of the work.
Five full-time EU interpreting staff to handle the Irish business of parliament are currently being trained in the University of Westminster in London. It appears that there is no such university course available back on the old sod.
And the sensitive issue of cost? Not much for such an important happening. The budget for the current year to cover the implementation of the language is €677,048 which language lovers say is only a pittance.
For the record: what Brian Crowley said
"Uachtaráin Is mór an onóir dom labhairt I mo theanga dúchais anseo tráthnóna inniu. Ba mhaith liom buíochas ó chroí a ghabháil le rialtaisí uilig an Aontais Eorpaigh agus le feisirí an tí seo, as ucht a gcuid tacaíochta chun stádas oifigiúil oibre a bhaint amach don nGaeilge.
Tá cur chun cinn teangacha rí - thábhachtach ó thaobh forbairt iomlán a dhéanamh ar Aontas na hEorpa.
Tá ceangal láidir idir éagsúlacht Cultúir agus Co-Oibriú Eacnamaíochta san Eoraip, agus creidim a Uachtaráin Borrell gur éirigh leat an dá aidhm seo a bhaint amach le linn do théarma in oifig an Uachtaráin."