Shakespearean England and Views of the Irish Language - Mícheál Ó Mainnín

The Irish language has been associated with politicisation and conflict, particularly in the context of contemporary Northern Ireland identity politics. However, debates around the language extend much further back in time and some key elements of the discourse may be traced to the sixteenth century in particular. This lecture looks at the portrayal of the Irish language by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and the motivations for some negative stereotypes which were to prove resilient and...