Advocates say presidency could be ‘transformative moment’ for Ireland after Gaelic’s cultural breakthroughs
The Irish language has scored cultural breakthroughs with the film The Quiet Girl and the controversial rap trio Kneecap and is now about to acquire a new talisman: Catherine Connolly.
When the independent leftwing politician is inaugurated as Ireland’s president on Tuesday, she will carry hopes of a transformational Gaelic revival.
The former barrister from Galway made Gaelic a central part of her election campaign and has indicated she wishes to make it the working language of the presidency. “I will do my best to bring Irish in from the margins and use it,” Connolly told the Irish language station Raidió na Gaeltachta.
The 68-year-old shocked the centre-right political establishment last month when she won a landslide in the election to succeed Michael D Higgins as Ireland’s 10th president. Her candidacy united opposition leftwing parties, energised young voters and won 64% of the vote.
