Gaelic speakers only for Connemara's coastal homes

Ireland sells itself as the land of a hundred thousand welcomes. But the welcome is wearing thin for English speakers in the Gaelic- speaking region of Connemara.

Galway County Council, the local authority, has approved a ban on house-building by people who cannot speak the Irish language.

The ban, the first of its kind in Ireland, applies to a 60-mile stretch of scenic Connemara coastline where plots of building land are sought for holiday homes and by commuters from Galway city.

Pol O Foighil, the councillor who spearheaded the move, said: "It is the only hope of stopping the flood of English-speaking families coming in."

The measure is part of what looks like a losing battle to slow the encroachment into one of the few parts of Ireland where Gaelic is used in the home. The economic boom in Galway, which is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe, has spread new housing into Connemara, an official Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) area. The whole of Ireland is in the grip of a home-building frenzy fuelled by rapid economic development.

Gaelic, which has almost died out as a working language in most of Ireland, is compulsory in schools. Most people can speak only a few words of their ancestral tongue.

But conversational fluency will be demanded of applicants for planning permission in designated areas. They will have to convince the council of their "goodwill" towards Gaelic.

"I have lived in this area for 50 years and I have seen the language becoming redundant. Part of the reason for that is the influx of English speakers into the Gaeltacht area" Mr O Foighil said. "The language is being lost rapidly."

Official attempts to halt the decline of Irish have had limited success. But government officials said the ban, which could be law by early next year, might be a step too far. "I have a gut feeling that when the councillors look at this again they will amend it in some way," said Eamon O Cuiv, the Minister for Culture, Rural and Gaeltacht affairs.