Irish (also called Gaelic or Gaeilge na hÉireann) is an Indo-European language that has been spoken in Ireland for over 2,000 years. It is the language of some of the world's greatest poetry, legends, stories, and ballads, and it has an extensive written literature that dates back more than a thousand years.

Irish is one of six Celtic languages currently spoken in Western Europe. It is closely related to Scots-Gaelic (Scotland) and Manx (Isle of Man). Other Celtic languages include Welsh (Wales), Cornish (Cornwall), and Breton (Brittany, France). One of the national languages of the Republic of Ireland, Irish is spoken with particular passion in Northern Ireland. Since the seventeenth century, English has been widely used throughout Northern Ireland; however, the census of 2001 established that over ten percent of the population in the region had some skills in the Irish language.

In recent years, the British government has promised to support the language in Northern Ireland.