For those of us who love and speak our native Gaeilge, the efforts of successive Irish governments to forcefully promote the teanga dúchais (native tongue) were about as useful as teats on a bull.

Ex-Fianna Fáil Taoiseach and Uachtarán na hÉireann, Éamon de Valera, was influential in making Irish compulsory, and some bright spark came up with the idea that if you failed Irish in the Leaving Cert examination, the equivalent of A-Levels, you failed the entire exam! This could have spawned scores of court cases before it was quietly dropped.

Since the foundation of the State in 1922, there has been a cliched image of the super Gaeilgeoir. 

Always a man dressed in Irish tweed, smoking a wise pipe, wearing the 'Fáinne' (Ring) which proudly signalled that he was an Irish speaker and, therefore, clearly a superior being who was the sworn enemy of the dreaded Anglo-Saxon tongue of the pale-faced invaders.

Irish was a cold house for those of other faiths, even though the Presbyterians did Trojan work to preserve the Irish language in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The first President of Conradh na Gaeilge (the Gaelic League) was Douglas Hyde, the son of a Protestant Church of Ireland Minister from County Roscommon in 1893.

Linda Ervine is carrying on this noble tradition in Belfast, as the language gradually and welcomingly sheds its backward, fusty image and becomes truly inclusive.

A record-breaking recent film entitled 'Kneecap' has given Irish a welcome kick up the nether regions, bringing the language to millions of people through the wacky lens of rap music and a clever mixing of Irish and English that serves as the best introduction to the “language that the stranger does not know” from that immortal song 'Galway Bay'.

The three main characters in the film — Naoise O’Caireallain, Liam Óg O’Hannaidh, and JJ O’Dochartaigh - have never acted before, but they have become social media Gods for their portrayal of the language.

They segue from drug dealing to music after meeting the budding producer JJ, who urges them to channel their passion for the Irish language into hip-hop.

The result is an Irish film that has already grossed £1 million and has been playing to sold-out houses all over the country.

It is co-produced by the Enniskillen-born, former Impartial Reporter journalist, Trevor Birney.

Rapping in their native Irish language, the trio create their own genre of Irish punk rap, mixing Irish and English with electrifying energy. Their writing and performances reimagine what rap can be as a creative and cultural force, rooted in community.

Kneecap ultimately becomes the unlikely figurehead of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue, upending preconceptions about language and place and spearheading a cultural revival with interest from their legions of young followers. Its message is simple, effective, and hilarious, giving the language a welcome shot to its system.

One of its strengths is that it places Irish in a contemporary setting and gives the language a worldwide platform.

Renowned Enniskillen author Seamas MacAnnaidh, who has written over 20 novels in Gaeilge and gave the hoary old Irish chestnut tree a good shaking with his acclaimed Cuaifeach Mo Lonndubh Buí — a novel set in Enniskillen in the 1970s — and Rubble na Dá Mickies, with some rich wordplay between the two tongues, has welcomed the film.

“Irish should be as wide and open as possible to everybody. Irish is a medium of expression; it is not a philosophy in itself. Anybody and everybody can express their views in any way they can, and that is what this film does.

“I suppose I shook the Irish language tree back in the 1970s and 1980s. Films about the Irish language are coming to the fore. Last year we had the film 'An Cailín Ciúin' (The Quiet Girl), a film that was nominated for an Oscar. The important thing is to take the two films together - one being a very sensitive rural story about a child, the opposite of Kneecap.

"It shows the wide spectrum of talent and society’s attitude towards the Irish language, which is always welcome.

"Kneecap is bringing Irish worldwide. It is a phenomenon, but not a permanent statement; it’s not something that will last forever or change the whole direction of the language.

"Six months down the line, it could be something else. But if Kneecap is the second Irish language film to be nominated for an Oscar, then who knows what effect the next film will have? It’s all good for the language, which would not have been possible a few years ago.

“All these doors have been opened, and all these opportunities are now presented for filmmakers, writers, and musicians that were not there in the past. So that is the really positive thing.”

So, will it encourage young people to take up the language?

“It’s a totally new perspective and should not be judged on past standards. It’s encouraging that Irish is being pushed at a high level in the film industry.”

Meanwhile, Jim Ledwith, chairperson of Fermanagh Irish language group Srúth na hÉirne (Stream of the Erne), has seen the film and told The Impartial Reporter that it reminded him of his time in West Belfast in early 1981.

“I thought it was a very good take on West Belfast, and it reminded me of that period beside the Springfield Road police station. What was in the minds of young lads then was avoiding being kneecapped or beaten with baseball bats by the Official IRA.

“It brought back all the turbulence of West Belfast in that period, but on a more positive note, this film is a different take on the language and is also a bit of reality. A lot of our group went to see the film in Enniskillen and were very impressed. It was a very realistic portrayal of life in Belfast. It is full of paramilitaries and the problems facing young people, like drugs and getting into trouble with the law and paramilitaries.

“But the best thing of all was that it was done through Irish, and it was bilingual, so you could follow the film even if you were not into Irish. It has given the Irish language a big boost. Of course, Shaw’s Road started the big Irish revival in the 1970s, and that has been going for a few generations. This was driven by ordinary people, not by institutions like the Catholic Church or schools, and that has blossomed big time. It has taken off as an affirmation of a people’s identity.”

Jim added: "Kneecap will spur people on to try out the language for what it’s worth. If people are having fun with it, well, at least it will do no harm. There are different ways of getting into Gaeilge - through classes, fun, and now through cinema, sport, art, and social media.

"There is much wider scope for the language now, and Kneecap could be important in this. We in Srúth na hÉirne have a group called 'An Óige', which is our youth club, and that has been successful, and we are restarting it again. The Irish language is in a totally different world, and this film gives the language worldwide exposure, which is very encouraging.

"It is a positive thing, and that is the message at the end of 'Kneecap'—it’s about having a language and affirming who we are, and that the language is for everyone on the island, not just any one group, and that is very important. It is our language, we love it, and we are going to enjoy it.”

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin councillor Tommy Maguire put a snas on his Gaeilge in the 'university' of Long Kesh.

“It was pyramid learning - one lad learned four or five phrases and passed them on, and you could not speak any English. I spent five years in a Gaeltacht that we formed in there. It was an unorthodox but very practical way of learning the language, for which I have a deep love.”

He added: “My Irish improved a lot. I had an O-Level already from St. Michael’s, and I use it as much as I can. I met a lad from Donegal at the All-Ireland Fleadh in Wexford, and we spoke in Irish. I have become fairly fluent. 'Kneecap' is a great way of encouraging people to use Irish as a living language.

"The youth can relate to their own culture, and it is great that the language can be relevant to the youth, which is apparent in the film. It deals with modern issues and is very realistic. It is the everyday things that we can relate Irish to. A lot of young ones who are into rap music are getting a bit of Gaeilge."

He said the language should never be restricted to just Irish culture.

"It is alive, and that language will always be about communication before identity. It is not a weapon, not a tool. Bilingualism is great for the development of children’s linguistic skills, and it is all positive. It is something that we can all share, and we can all be proud of. Nobody has tried to own or possess it. It is a very rich and poetic language, and we should all be very proud of it.”

Beir Bua!