…de la Belfast Telegraph:
A legal challenge against a 270-year-old ban on the use of the Irish language in court proceedings in Northern Ireland has been dismissed in the High Court in Belfast.
A legal challenge against a 270-year-old ban on the use of the Irish language in court proceedings in Northern Ireland has been dismissed in the High Court in Belfast.
An Irish language speaker, Caoimhin Mac Giolla Cathain, a member of the Shaws Road Gaeltacht in west Belfast, took the case after he was informed that his application in Irish for an occasional drinks licence could not be considered.
Court staff said the reason was that the Administration of Justice (Language) Act of 1737 stipulated that “all proceedings in courts of justice within this kingdom shall be in the English language”….
….Janet Muller, CEO of Pobal, which supported Mr Cathain's application, said: “We are disappointed but not surprised. Today's decision proves the urgent need for an Irish Language Act to properly protect the rights of Irish speakers...
...“In Wales, Welsh speakers have had the right to use Welsh in courts since 1942. In Scotland, there are courts where Gaidhlig can be heard every day.
“This case shows that the British Government is once more guilty of operating a double standard in its treatment of the users of different languages on these islands.”
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