‘Bursting Proud’ of an Interview in Irish
Paul Mescal, the Irish actor nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in “Aftersun,” recently did something he had never publicly done before: He spoke Irish.
Mr. Mescal, 27, was on the red carpet at the British Academy Film Awards in London when he talked with TG4, an Irish-language public broadcaster. The interviewer opened the conversation in Irish, also known as Gaelic, and the actor nervously followed suit.
The two-minute interaction, posted on Twitter, has been viewed one million times and set off a conversation across Ireland about the state of one of Europe’s most endangered languages.
“The whole country is bursting proud of Paul Mescal,” said Eithne Shortall, an Irish author who lives in Dublin.
“I really don’t think you can overstate how great this is for the language, to have someone so visible, young and cool speaking Irish,” she added.
According to the 2016 Irish census, 39.8 percent of the population can speak Irish, down from 41.4 percent in 2011. Of the 1.7 million who said they could speak the language, only 73,803 — 1.7 percent of the population — said they did so daily outside an educational setting.
Irish is a mandatory subject in primary and secondary schools in Ireland. As a result, almost all Irish people know a few words, but some are reluctant to use them. Ms. Shortall said seeing Mr. Mescal being hesitant to speak was encouraging.
“A lot of the reason we can’t or we don’t is we’re nervous, and we’re kind of embarrassed,” she said.
At the BAFTAs, another Irish actor, Brendan Gleeson, also gave an interview in Irish, while Colin Farrell slowly backed away and was relieved to quickly find someone who would ask him questions in English.
“Shame on me,” said Mr. Farrell, who is also Irish.
Irish is the oldest spoken language in Western Europe, according to Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, a professor at Concordia University’s School of Irish Studies in Montreal. Factors such as mass migration stemming from the Great Famine and present-day emigration have contributed to the language’s decline, he added.
Irish is currently considered “definitely endangered” by UNESCO.
“This is a mode of expression that is ours, and that we can reclaim, but it takes a certain level of commitment,” said Colm Bairéad, the director of “The Quiet Girl,” which has been nominated for an Oscar this year — the first Irish-language film to achieve that distinction. “And when you see people like Paul being willing to do that, that’s inspiring for people.”
On the red carpet, the journalist asked Mr. Mescal one final question: Would he ever consider acting in an Irishlanguage film?
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said — in English.