Sinn Féin MEP goes on “language strike” in European Parliament

Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ní Riada

On March 2, Sinn Féin MEP for Ireland South Liadh Ní Riada began a stailc teanga (“language strike”) in the European Parliament, in protest against the second-class status afforded the Irish language by the European Union (EU) and to highlight the Irish Government’s lack of action on the issue.

Sinn Féin’s Irish Language Officer and daughter of influential Irish composer and musician Sean Ó Riada – Ní Riada was elected to the European Parliament in May last year, and has already been shortlisted for an MEP of the year award.

Ní Riada has timed her strike to coincide with Seachtain na Gaeilge (“Irish Language Week”) which runs from March 1 to 17.

While Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, it was only accepted as an official working language of the EU in 2007, and was then immediately granted a renewable five-year “derogation”. This legal loophole means that European institutions are exempted from providing full translation or interpretation services in Irish, as they are obliged to do with all other official EU languages.

The derogation has been renewed for a further five years, and – unless lifted – will remain in place until 2017.

Announcing her strike at the International Conference on Language Rights in Dublin on February 17, Ní Riada declared: “For the duration of Seachtain na Gaeilge I will be on a language strike. This means I will only speak Irish in my work with the European Institutions as a protest against the derogation.”

“My aim is to draw attention to derogation and to encourage the Irish Language community and the Irish people in general to put pressure on the Government to remedy the situation.”