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English in Ireland
English has been spoken in Ireland since the twelfth century, and Irish speakers of English have made a huge contribution to English -speaking culture. Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, was Irish. Oscar Wilde, the author of so many plays depicting the class system of England, was Irish. George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, Flann O’ Brien, W.B Yeats and Seamus Heaney : all Irish.
In popular music, U2, Sinead O’ Connor, The Cranberries, Snow Patrol, Enya, Westlife and Boyzone all come from Ireland. All owe their success in part to their ability to communicate in English throughout the English -speaking world.
It has been said that the Irish people speak English better than any other race, better even than the British. If you are speaking to a native, chances are they will speak in a `mid-Atlantic’ accent and use words that are common across the English-speaking world. Irish emigrants have taken Irish English with them to America, Australia and New Zealand and so Irish English has had influence on the English of those countries. That’s why you’ll fit so easily into the English -speaking world and English-speaking culture when you’ve learned your English in Ireland.
