Belfast’s Irish Language Revival Documented from Family Homes

Residences instrumental in the contemporary resurgence of the Irish language in Belfast have granted access, including their attics, to students seeking historical insights. Northern Ireland’s inaugural urban Gaeltacht was established on Shaw’s Road in west Belfast in 1969. This historical exploration has prompted 17-year-old Lucymay Robinson to examine photographs and records preserved by her own family. She informed BBC News NI, “I come here sometimes to visit people and it’s fun to be able to dip in to the Irish heritage that is in my family.” As a student at Coláiste Feirste in west Belfast, she is collaborating with others to chronicle the history of the Belfast Gaeltacht for the GaelStair project. The initiative seeks to showcase the narrative of the Irish language revival in Belfast through an exhibition at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Proni). Subsequently, with financial support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, a permanent exhibit is planned for Spórtlann at Coláiste Feirste. Given that some of the original families continue to reside on Shaw’s Road, the students possess excellent primary source material. Lucymay stated, “We have been looking at the documents from the building of Bhóthar Seoighe and the rebuilding of Bombay Street.” She added, “And it’s very interesting to learn the history and to see the documents and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.” She also noted, “They had to fight for permission to be able to build these houses.” Northern Ireland’s first Irish-medium school was also established in the vicinity. Bunscoil Phobal Feirste commenced operations in 1971 with a limited number of students, occupying a single classroom. As a student at a large Irish-medium post-primary institution, Lucymay acknowledges a responsibility to the language’s early advocates. She remarked, “These families are tremendously important for rebuilding the language and being able to share the language with everyone, and completely re-start it from the ground up.” She further asserted, “The power that this language has is unstoppable and it will continue to grow,” concluding, “We’re going to try our best to present it to the world.” Davor Comissa-Davidson, another student from Coláiste Feirste, has similarly explored boxes stored in the attics of residences on Shaw’s Road. He commented, “Going through all the different archives and all the photos and seeing the people who created what we’re living in now, it’s all very interesting.” He continued, “They put in all their hard work and their sweat and their tears and they helped create everything that we have, for example the Irish Primary School.” He added, “They helped to build that and built all these houses and it’s interesting speaking to people who were there first hand.” Seán Mac Seáin was one such individual, counted among the initial Irish speakers who constructed and inhabited the houses on Shaw’s Road from their inception, and he remains a resident there. Seán retrieved as much memorabilia from that era as he could locate to present to the students. He stated, “The Troubles had an effect on it alright, there’s no doubt – there was trouble here every other day of the week.” He affirmed, “But we lasted through that.” He elaborated, “The only thing we had, and I don’t know whether you’d call it a rule or not, was that Irish would be the language of the home.” He continued, “I was explaining to them the importance of community – it’s very, very important.” He warned, “If you lose sight of that you more or less lose everything,” and concluded, “You have to know where you come from.” Michael Jackson, representing the GaelStair project, indicated that its objective is to “conserve and to celebrate the story of the contemporary Irish language revival.” He informed BBC News NI, “The project really aims to tell that story to a broader and more diverse audience.” He emphasized, “And you can’t tell the story of the Irish language community without reference to what happened here in Bhóthar Seoighe and the founding of the first urban Gaeltacht.” He concluded by stating, “These are people who created a future for some 70,000 people who speak the Irish language everyday.”