Numbers speaking Irish locally on the rise

Droghedeans can give themselves a ‘ bualadh bos’ - after it was revealed that the area rates in the top ten towns for daily speakers of Irish in the latest Census.

For the first time in the town’s history, Drogheda features on the list of the top ten towns in Ireland for the percentage of people who speak Irish on a daily basis outside the education system.

Statistics compiled by the CSO indicate that a total of 464 Drogheda residents, or 1.1% of the town’s population, claim in Census 2016 to speak Irish on a daily basis outside a school setting.

While the figures themselves are small, it represents a significant change in trends and in the perception of a town which had long been regarded historically as part of the olde English Pale.

Interestingly Drogheda’s neighbouring Louth town Dundalk, which has often been perceived as more supportive of Gaelic language, music and culture, does not feature on the list.

The positive trends in Drogheda may be due in part to the influence and growth of Gaelscoileanna in the area, most notably Scoil Aonghusa and Gaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa.