Madam - Throughout my secondary education, over the last five years, I have become increasingly frustrated with the predicament of the Irish language in this country.
The organisations entrusted with the preservation of the language in this country are standing idly by, as, day by day, our language is dying out. There is no effort being made to spread the language outside Gaeltacht areas, especially in surburban and urban areas. Instead, the "Gaelgóiri" of this country have never had it so good - special planning laws, tax breaks, grants etc.
These native speakers constitute the organisations such as Gael Linn, Conradh na Gaeilge and Foras na Gaeilge, who are controlling the language as a unique entity for themselves. Irish is now a language for the select few. Its ailing predicament nationwide is seemingly going unnoticed by the aforementioned.
I believe the State funding of the language would be more beneficial if the taxpayers' money was directed into initiatives which aim to spread the use of the language into the regions that have been forgotten about for all too long.
Irish needs to be the language of the majority; unfortunately there seems to be no organisation which shares my opinion. "Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam" mar a deir an seanfhocal agus nach fíor é. - Yours, etc.,
THOMAS DONOHOE, Barrymore, Athlone, Co Roscommon.
A chara, - The people of Ireland may soon inhabit a soulless country. An undertaking that gathered momentum centuries ago and reached fifth gear after the famine is today not far from completion. I write of course of the never-ending shackles that are placed on the Irish language and threaten it with death.
We the Irish people have governed ourselves for the last 80 years or so, we have plotted our own course and we are answerable for the myriad of obstacles that threaten our native tongue with undeserved extinction.
At a time when Ireland holds the Presidency of the EU, let us observe the predictable lack of foresight of the politicians we elected to represent us.
I wager that these men (they're usually men) will not move to make Irish an official EU language.
When I win my bet could I also suggest that Fianna Fáil change and anglicise the name of the party to "Soldiers of Predictability". - Is mise le meas,
ALAN Ó BAOILL, Páirc an Ghárrain Cnó, Cluain Sceach, Baile Átha Cliath 14.