The Irish language, or Gaeilge, has a rich history dating back over 2,000 years. It is a member of the Celtic language family, which also includes Scots Gaelic and Welsh, and is believed to have developed from the language spoken by the early Celts who settled in Ireland. The earliest written records of Irish date back to the 4th century AD in the form of Ogham inscriptions, but it wasn’t until the 6th century that the language began to flourish in the form of Old Irish. This period coincided with the rise of monasteries in Ireland, where Latin was widely used, but Irish was preserved in religious texts and legal documents. Over time, the language evolved into Middle Irish (900–1200 AD) and then Early Modern Irish (1200–1600 AD), which is much closer to the modern dialects spoken today.
 

However, the Irish language faced significant challenges following the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, and especially after the English colonization in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Irish were subjected to intense political, social, and economic pressures that led to the decline of the language. Laws were enacted to suppress the use of Irish, and English gradually became the dominant language. By the 19th century, the language was in steep decline, exacerbated by the Great Famine (1845-1852), which caused widespread depopulation of Irish-speaking regions. Despite these challenges, Irish persisted, particularly in rural areas and among the diaspora. In the 20th century, efforts to revive the language took root, especially after the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, where Irish was declared the national language. Today, while it is still spoken by a minority, significant efforts to preserve and promote Irish continue through education, media, and cultural initiatives. Irish first appeared in writing in the Ogham alphabet in the 5th century - inscriptions written on stones. 

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