My daughter loves Irish - but I’m not sure it’s a good career move for her

My daughter loves Irish. It’s among her top subjects at school. I’m not so sure it’s a good career option for her, especially if she wants to go abroad. Are there jobs which would allow her to keep up her interest in Irish without limiting her future career options?

A career in education at any level remains a very viable and worthwhile option for students – and many of these careers are based abroad.

Higher-level Irish is a requirement for teaching in most primary schools here and there are many vacancies for preschool staff in naíonraí around the country. Irish teachers and teachers of other subjects through Irish are in great demand at second level, and there are vacancies at third level. Opportunities to teach Irish abroad in European schools and in American and Canadian universities also abound.

Career opportunities are plentiful in the film industry and in social, digital, print and broadcast media. Raidió na Gaeltachta celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Think of the success of films such as An Cailín Ciúin and Kneecap; the extremely high quality of TG4 programming, and the launch of a dedicated Irish language TV channel for children, Cúla 4.

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Recent legislative changes have mandated many State bodies to advertise more through Irish. This has created additional opportunities for talented people to draft creative copy, to act, and to produce persuasive advertising in Irish for social and mainstream media.

[ ‘Irish is alive, it has personality, and a bit of devilment in it’ ]

The changes have also strengthened the role of the Irish language in national and European administration systems. Many State companies are now obliged to provide better public services in Irish and are recruiting accordingly. It is the Government’s aim that 20 per cent of all new recruits to the public sector by 2030 will be competent in Irish. This recruitment drive covers a wide range of roles within many sectors and departments, including inspectors, vets, engineers, planners, economists and administrators.

Irish now has full status as an official language of the European Union. This means all documents published by the EU are also in Irish. More than 220 Irish speakers have been recruited to work in the EU’s translation services in Luxembourg and Brussels. Translators are also in great demand in the Houses of the Oireachtas, where half of the current vacancies remain unfilled. Social media companies and private translation companies in Ireland and abroad are also recruiting people with good Irish language skills.

[ Can Irish survive as an everyday language in the Gaeltacht? ]

Just under 8,000 people are currently employed full-time in Údarás na Gaeltachta’s client companies, and these businesses have a significant economic impact. These include companies engaged in high-tech, pharmaceutical, medical devices and wind energy. Just under 1,000 new jobs were created at all levels last year. There are also many job opportunities for Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht in health services, tourism and hospitality technology. For more details, check out Saoloibre.ie

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