About the Irish Language
Irish comes from the Goidelic family of languages and is the traditional language of Ireland. Irish is often referred to in English as Erse, Irish Gaelic, or simply
Gaelic. In Ireland, it is more commonly known as the Irish language or just Irish. The use of the word Irish also serves to avoid problems for those who confuse
it with Scottish Gaelic, its close relative spoken in Scotland, which is typically referred to in English as Gaelic. There are a number of individual dialects of Irish. In broad terms, the three major dialects coincide with the provinces of Ulster, Connacht, and Munster. There are still places in Ireland, called GaeltachtaÃÂ, where the Irish language is spoken as a primary, native language. The major ones are located in the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry, the west coast of County Donegal, in Connemara, and the Aran Islands in County Galway. Others exist in Waterford, Meath, and Mayo.