To start on a seasonal note, although it's officially 2011 now, I thought you might like to see a few Christmas photos from London!

As you've probably seen, Ireland has been in the spotlight over the last few months but I'm not going to get into that here! If you would like to find out more about what's happening in Ireland and with the Irish economy right now, check out some of the radio and TV programmes about it from World Have Your Say.

And now, back to your questions...

There are a few things to think about here - how many people speak the language and its vibrancy, or how alive or regularly used it is every day.

Also, in December, the Irish government launched a 20-year strategy for the Irish language. Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen said:
"This plan aims to increase the number of people who speak Irish on a daily basis from 83,000 to 250,000 over the next 20 years."

I think this sounds very exciting, so it will be really interesting to see what happens over the next few years.

The number of people who speak Irish-Gaelic every day is relatively small in the overall population. Most of the people who speak it daily live in Gaeltacht or Irish-speaking areas, mainly in the west. However, we do learn it at school from the age of four or five until we finish secondary school, sometime between the ages of 16 and 18.

So while the numbers of daily speakers is relatively small, I think it is very much alive and as a people, it's very much a part of who we are, as Irish people. There is an Irish-language television channel, TG4, which has many popular programmes, there are Irish-Gaelic programmes on local and national radio stations and people often use a 'cúpla focail', literally a few (Irish-Gaelic) words when speaking in English. It's also one of the official languages of the European Union.

Over a few years, I've worked on radio programmes where Irish-Gaelic was the language we used at work nearly all the time. The energy and enthusiasm the people I worked with was infectious. You couldn't help but be excited by their grá or love for the language.

I'll think some more about phrases in English whose origins lie in Irish and blog about them.

The BBC has Gaelic online, TV and radio in Northern Ireland and in Scotland.

@Alban asked:
"Stephen, could you explain in one of your next post the history of the country?"

I'd suggest reading the BBC country profile for Ireland. I've been doing some searching to get some other links and I'll look around some more to see what I can find that's short and easy to read.

@María asked:
I lived in Ireland for some time and I remember wondering why people used sentences like 'I'm just after having lunch' (instead of the more English expression 'I've just had lunch').

I think this goes back to Irish Gaelic and the phrase 'táim díreach tar eís', which translates as 'I'm just after (or directly) after...'

Thank you so much for all your questions. Happy New Year!

Some useful phrases from this blog:
in the spotlight - watched by everyone
under the impression - believed or made to believe something
was infectious - inspired by being near these people
couldn't help but - was unable not to be

I'm one of the newest members of the team so I thought I should finally say hello! I've been chatting to a few people on the message boards and working away on the website over the last 2 1/2 months. As an Irish addition to the team, I thought you might like to have a quick look at where I'm from.

As you can see from this picture, the rain clouds are never too far away. In case you're wondering, the big solid rock formation you can see at the top of the photo, is part of The Burren. It's a rocky, limestone pavement with deep grooves or gaps in between the rock in places so you have to be very careful where you're walking. On a windy, rainy winter day it can be desolate and bleak, while on a sunny day it is undoubtedly one of the most stunning sights you will ever see. Some of the ancient monuments and tombs in the Burren are older then the pyramids in Egypt!

Did you know that Irish (Gaelic) is the official first language in Ireland and English is the other official language? You can read more about it here.

If you've listened to British English and American English, you'll have heard some small differences in the words people use. Someone speaking British English will say "tap" where in American English, you'd say "faucet". In Hiberno-English, the kind of English commonly spoken in Ireland, we have some phrases you might find unusual. I'll do a longer blog on these later, but for now, here are a few to get you started:

It can get confusing sometimes!

IRELAND: Stop shouting out loud, please! You're very bold
UK: Stop shouting out loud, please! You're very naughty

IRELAND: I've washed my cup and I'm going to place it back in the press.
UK: I've washed my cup and I'm going to place it back in the cupboard.

Before you ask, I'll have to do some more investigating to find out how Irish people have come to have these variations when speaking English.

And finally today, here's a view of the village I'm from in Ireland. It's called Castleconnell, which would be Caislean Ui gConaing in Irish (Gaelic), which would translate literally as Gunning's Castle. Gunning is the name of the family associated with the castle as you walk or drive towards the village. I'll have to take some photographs of it when I'm back home to show you another time.

I don't know what the winter was like where you come from, but last winter was certainly one of the coldest I ever remember. There were a few mornings where I was driving to work and I think my car was travelling at around 5 miles per hour so I didn't skid on the ice or snow. Grim.

So while it made for difficult driving and pedestrians slipping and sliding, it did look spectacular in photographs, like the one below.

Let me know what you think of how people from Ireland use English.Go dti an cead uair eile, slan - until the next time, bye!

Stephen

A frosty view of the River Shannon in Castleconnell

Irish: someone from Ireland
road-trip: a long car journey
an awful lot : you can use "awful" to emphasize how large an amount is