The Castle Inn on Dublin's Lord Edward Street was like any other pub on a Thursday night. There was a good mixture of people, all swilling pints and chatting, with live music playing in the background. But on a closer look, this was no ordinary night out. This was Sult - a fortnightly get-together organised by Bord na Gaeilge (UCD) and Radio na Life to get people talking, in Irish.

In groups by the bar, at the small round tables in front of the musicians they spoke the native tongue. Some were deep in serious conversation, others were just stumbling past basic introductions, yet all were getting a kick out of speaking Irish away from the classroom, far from the Gaeltacht, in the heart of Dublin city.

"A few years ago we'd never have come to a pub and spoken Irish," says Aoife Walsh (25). Although Walsh and others like her had been to pubs with Irish-speaking organisations, the setting, the crowd and the atmosphere never appealed to them.

In the basement of the Conradh na Gaeilge offices on Harcourt Street, Irish enthusiasts can go any night of the week to speak the language in a social setting. But Sinead Ni Bhradaigh (21), a primary school teacher, says she found it "old-fashioned" and that it was "full of seanlads". "There are other places but they have quiet music and old people sitting in the corner. There are diverse ages here," says Ni Bhradaigh, pointing out one of her own teachers from primary school in the crowd. At college, she said there were similar Irish evenings in the pub but again, "that's just your college, it's a small core, it's not diverse".

Both Ni Bhradaigh and a fellow primary school teacher have been to previous Sult evenings, since it opened in October last year, and seem to treat them as much as social nights-out as chances to speak Irish. Ni Bhradaigh's friend says she enjoys the atmosphere and even got up to shimmy with a belly-dancer at a previous evening.

As well as the twenty-somethings on the tear, there were also many of the over-30, 40 and 50 variety. Sean and Eamonn came because they were put off by other attempts to put Irish in an evening-time, social surrounding because of the attitude of some of the established Dublin Irish speakers. Sult for them is more of a social occasion than a chance to show off your Irish and show up others who don't have as good a command of the language. "Here you don't feel self-conscious because people aren't making assumptions about you," a friend of the two men said.

If a relaxed, informal Irish-speaking atmosphere surrounded by pints does not entice you to Sult then maybe the entertainment will. Apart from Irish music, including a seannos singer and traditional musicians, the organisers wanted to spice the evening up with something different. They came up with Murray Molloy (23), from Co Meath, who tours with the Jim Rose Circus. Eating fire, breaking bricks off his head and snorting a balloon up his nose and pulling it out his mouth were just some of the treats Molloy put on for the audience.

Such acts, including the bellydancer at an earlier evening, give a more youthful feel to Sult which the organisers say is the key to making it a success. Ailin Ni Chonchuir, Irish language officer with Bord na Gaelige (UCD), says that the image of Irish is changing from the days of when it was associated with Peig Sayers to the present day newsreader Sharon Ni Bheolain and TG4. "There have always been young people interested in Irish but now it is more obvious that Irish is spoken by people in Dublin who eat out in cafes," Ailin says.

And those cafe-goers have also recently been given the opportunity to speak as gaeilge while sipping their cappuccinos. An Dail Bia, on Kildare Street, has been open since October and another cafe with Irish-speaking staff is due to open on Dawson Street this month.

So, for those of us who have lapsed in our Irish-speaking skills, now is the time to brush up. You may well find yourself wandering into a Dublin establishment unable to speak the lingo - and it might not be Spanish they are speaking.

Sult is one of the activities listed in the programme for the forthcoming Irish language festival, Seachtain na Gaeilge, to run from March 10th to March 17th. Further information from Conradh na Gaeilge, tel: 01-475 7401; email cnag@tinet.ie.