Why do people not speak Irish anymore?

Answer 1

The native language of Ireland is Irish, which is one form of Gaelic.

Over the hundreds of years of occupation, the English worked aggressively to root out native Irish culture, suppressing religion, education, and language. The Irish language was outlawed at various times.

But economics probably played an even bigger role in the decline of the language: English was almost exclusively the language of business and education. Even the 19th century leader Daniel O'Connell, although himself a native Irish speaker, thought the language was a burden or encumbrance and advised people to change to English.

By 1800, most Irish spoke English.

For decades, Irish parents actively discouraged their children from learning Irish, because it was associated with poverty.

When most of Ireland achieved independence, the new Irish government made Irish mandatory in schools, but it remained relatively unpopular for decades. Today, about half the population can speak some Irish, but very, very rarely as a first language.There are, however, Irish language radio and television networks. As well, the government does provide support for the Gaeltachts, the areas, mostly on the west coast, where many households live and work in Irish, but those areas appear to be shrinking.

Answer:

They didn't. But, as a territory of the British Empire, the children were required to learn English in school.

Answer 2

Lost of people do speak Irish, many as their first language. English is far more widely spoke in Ireland, but it is wrong to say that Irish is not spoken any more. For reasons that it is not so widely spoken now as it once was, see the related question below.

Answer 3

There are various reasons. When the British controlled Irish, the English language was spread and the Irish language was suppressed. During the famine of the 1840s, many Irish speakers died or emigrated, and people that moved in Ireland to the east of the country found that English was more widely spoken there, as that is where Dublin is, the largest city in Ireland and there were many English speakers there. As English is an international language, it is very useful to modern Ireland, and so most people now speak it.