Even the new British ambassador is embracing the cúpla focal.
Introducing herself after presenting her Letters of Credence to President Michael D Higgins last week Kara Owens opened her short video on X in Irish.
“Dia dhaoibh. Is mise Cara Owen agus is mór an onóir dom mé féin a Chur in aithne daoibh mar ambasadóir nua na Breataine chun na hÉireann,” she said last week. (Hello, I’m Kara Owen and it’s my pleasure to be here today as the new British ambassador to Ireland).
Her embrace of the Irish language comes as the race to decide whether President Higgins’s successor will be Heather Humphreys, who does not speak Irish, or Catherine Connolly who speaks it fluently, enters its final days.
But does fluency in Irish matter in an Irish president. And is the issue a factor in voting intentions, particularly among younger voters? In short, could her Gaeilge help swing it for Connolly?
[ If Catherine Connolly wins, it means one of two thingsOpens in new window ]
Last week’s Irish Times opinion poll asked what was their “most important” value in a Presidential candidate. Just three per cent said “speaks Irish”.
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