A chara, - Donal Flynn (January 11th) misrepresents my point of view. Of course, I didn't suggest "restrictions on English speakers occupying houses in certain areas of the State". Such a suggestion is an obvious nonsense.
To reiterate, what I did advocate was the need to give positive support to the Irish language as the day-to-day language of Gaeltacht people. This, in my view, includes a duty on the part of the Government to help English-speaking families who go to live in the Gaeltacht to embrace that language, and so, in the words of my letter, "become the new blood of the threatened Gaeltacht areas".
My thesis on this point, as expressed in my letter of December 30th is, in fact, quite the opposite of what Mr Flynn claims it to be. Instead of bemoaning changes in society, I believe we should embrace worthwhile developments, such as the repopulation of rural areas, and seek to shape them into a positive influence on the ongoing dynamic of our social and cultural experience. This, in my view, should include encouraging new families in Gaeltacht areas, as I already declared, to "take on the Irish language". My suggestion of financial incentives to those families confirms the voluntary nature of any such engagement.
Mr Flynn's response reminds me that while some people are acutely aware of the cost of supporting the native language, they seem incapable of appreciating the value, to the Irish nation, of such a cultural treasure. - Yours, etc.,
Liam O Geibheannaigh, Ath an Ghainimh, Co Atha Cliath.