Irish has been fully recognized as an official language of European Union. From the New Year Day today, all documents published by the EU will be translated into Irish as well.
“This reflects the tireless work that has gone into building up the capability of the EU Institutions to operate through Irish – and it is fitting that it is happening this year, a year when we will also mark the historic 50 year anniversary since Ireland signed the Treaty of Accession to the European Communities,” said Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said in response to the news.
Ireland became a member of EU back in 1973, but Irish had not been recognized as an official EU language. Though people can correspond with EU institutions in Irish, only treaties were being translated into Irish.
Ireland has been trying hard for the language’s official recognition since 2005. In 2007, Irish became a working language which paved path to some of the documents being translated into Irish. Later in 2015, the country started putting high pressure for the full recognition which becomes a reality today.
Now, more than 170 Irish-language staff are working in EU institutions to translate documents into Irish, which is expected to grow to around 200 by early 2022.