Caoimhin Mac Giolla Cathain, a member of the Shaws Road Gaeltacht in west Belfast and performing artist with the Irish-language Reggae band, Bréag, brought the suit to the Court after his application for a drinks license was denied because it was not prepared in English.

The Court upheld the denial and the 1737 Act in spite of Good Friday Agreement, the St Andrew's Agreement and the European Charter on Lesser-Used Languages.

Interestingly, Daniel O’Connell, “The Liberator”, who brought about the repeal of the Penal Laws with the “Catholic Emancipation” on 1829, opposed the revival of the Irish language, although he was a native speaker of it himself. To this day, the Language Act of 1737 remains in effect 180 years later.

According to political historian Dr Eamon Phoenix, the Act could "be viewed as a piece of discriminatory legislation directed at the mother tongue of the mass of the Irish population at that time. It is therefore the cultural equivalent of the penal laws.”

In response to this recent ruling, the Irish-language activist group, Na Ceithearna Coille, are considering direct action along the lines of their previous campaigns.

Mac Giolla Catháin’s solicitor, Michael Flanigan is planning an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

 http://tinyurl.com/LingvaPunaLegxo