Most Irish people have some words of Irish, as it is a compulsory school subject.
In the last census, in 2006, 41.9% of the population said they speak Irish to some extent.
Around 10% are fluent speakers. Estimates suggest it is the first language of around 2 or 3% of the population.
It is difficult to quantify it in percentage terms. Most Irish people would have some Irish, as it is a compulsory subject in schools, and many words are commonly used in Ireland by English speakers that are actually Irish words. For example, the word used for a head of government in Ireland is Taoiseach, pronounced Tee Shock. You wouldn't often hear the words Prime Minister being used to refer to an Irish head of government, so when you do hear it, it is normally associated with the British Prime Minister. Taoiseach doesn't mean Prime Minister; it is an old Irish word for a leader or chieftain. There are lots of words like that that are used on a day to day basis by English speakers in Ireland. The Irish language is present in other ways too, like in placenames and the names of some organisations. However, the amount of people that speak Irish fluently and as their first language is quite small. An Irish speaking area, where the language is spoken on a daily basis as the first language, is known as a Gaeltacht. These are small areas, nearly all of which are on the west coast in counties like Donegal, Galway and Kerry, amongst others. You will get some more information on some websites. Try the two related links below for a start.
The Irish government has been less than candid about the state of the language and a recent government study (leaked to the media) gave the language another 20 years at the present rate. The language really only serves a symbolic function, The idea that the language is doing well is a pious fiction. Aidan Doyle's book states that for "Propaganda reasons" the Irish government wildly exaggerates the number of speakers as well as the unreliable census reports. People with little Irish reporting themselves as Irish speakers. "There are not more than 10,000 native speakers left, most of then over the age of 40". The reasons given for the decline of Irish are:
- Modern communication and suburbanisation of the last Gaeltachtaí
- A large influx of English-speaking vacation-home owners
- Competition from video, internet, mobile phone
He states the language seems doomed to extinction within a few decades as a language of everyday communication.
As a comparison, Scottish Gaelic had 58,000 speakers and the Celtic (but not Gaelic) Welsh had over 200,000 speakers.
20.
20,000,000 people play cricket worldwide today.
2
Not me, sooo...
200000
about 40,000,000 people
lotsa people worldwide
Millions
23,000
less than 10,000 people
Over 30 million people worldwide.
In Equestrian, There doesn't have to be a certain amount of people who play. Lots of people can play, maybe even 1,00000!