"Apart from highlighting the clash between the demands of nationalism and the role of the education system, the volume shows how criticism of the compulsory Irish policy was stifled; the resultant effect on the education system and the levels of attainment of pupils; and the attempts to apply compulsion more widely, including in competitions for public sector employment. In assessing the long-term costs of the strategy, both social and economic, Adrian Kelly illustrates the dangers in allowing ideology to win over pragmatism in the formulation of policy."--BOOK JACKET.

Using a blend of statistical analysis with field survery among native Irish speakers, Reg Hindley explores the reasons for the decline of the Irish language and investigates the relationships between geographical environment and language retention. He puts Irish into a broader European context as a European minority language, and assesses its present position and prospects.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.

Contains the 4th session of the 28th Parliament through the session of the Parliament.