Gaeltacht Quarter

The Gaeltacht Quarter (Irish: An Cheathrú Ghaeltachta [ənˠ ˌçahɾˠuː ˈɣeːl̪ˠt̪ˠəxt̪ˠə]) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is an area surrounding the Falls Road in the west of the city. A Gaeltacht is an area where the Irish language is spoken. Unlike the traditional Gaeltacht areas in the Republic of Ireland, Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter does not have legally defined geographical boundaries. The Quarter serves as a socio-linguistic hub focused on the Falls Road/Andersonstown Road corridor in the west of the city, and aims to promote Irish language and Irish culture in the area and to develop associated tourist attractions. Since the 1980s the Irish language has been statistically stronger in Belfast (especially in the west of the city) than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. The city has witnessed a steady growth of active English-Irish bilingualism, concentrated in the electoral wards in the west of the city. According to the 2021 census, out of the 333,748 people residing in Belfast city, 15.5% of people in the city have some knowledge of Irish, and 5.4% of the city's population claim to be able to speak, read, write and understand spoken Irish. 3.9% of people in the city use Irish daily and 0.8% speak it as their main language at home. According to Innti poet and scholar of Modern literature in Irish Louis de Paor, Belfast Irish, "a new urban dialect" of Ulster Irish, was "forged in the heat of Belfast during The Troubles". The same dialect, according to de Paor, has been used in the poetry of Gearóid Mac Lochlainn and other radically innovative writers like him. The controversial hip hop music trio Kneecap is also based in the Gaeltacht Quarter and performs rap music in the West Belfast urban dialect of Ulster Irish. Throughout the Quarter six Irish-medium primary schools are located: Gaelscoil an Lonnáin, Gaelscoil na bhFál, Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh, Gaelscoil na Móna, Bunscoil Phobal Feirste and Scoil na Fuinseoige. Coláiste Feirste is one of the fastest-growing…