The significant delay that followed the implementation of the Irish language legislation as outlined in the NDNA agreement saw a re-energised An Dream Dearg. Delay in the implementation of our rights was not something we weren’t used to; but this time we were in a much better position to challenge this delay following the success of our #AchtAnois campaign.

An Dream Dearg re-grouped and re-focused our energy, organising weekly Zoom meetings with our activists, discussing how best to influence those in power following the DUP reneging on their NDNA commitments.

Organising a campaign which is renowned for its community’s presence during a global pandemic did prove difficult, however, through weekly Zoom meetings, An Dream Dearg found a way to have their voices heard without being present.

In May 2021, almost 500 days after the publication of the NDNA agreement, a pre-recorded video of the Irish language community was cast on a large screen at the bottom of Stormont’s steps. Politicians were invited to listen to the message and understand the impact that the delay of the legislation was having on the Irish language community. Members of the public were encouraged to interact and share the video across social media platforms, using the hashtags #SeasAnFód, #NDNA500 and #AchtAnois.

The letter called on the Executive to agree and publish a timetable for the implementation and adoption of the NDNA Irish language legislation.

The voices of our community were heard, but now they had to be seen. An Dream Dearg encouraged Gaelscoils across the north to have a ‘Lá Dearg’, where staff and pupils wore red in support of our demands. This was complemented by a familiar display of community activism, whereby Deargóirí took to the Black Mountain in Belfast to erect a giant #AchtAnois for everyone to see their demands for the implementation of Acht Gaeilge.

Mid-June saw the publication of a cross-party letter to the Executive and the British and Irish Governments, signed by 5 parties within the Executive (Sinn Féin, SDLP, Alliance, People Before Profit, Green Party). The letter called on the Executive to agree and publish a timetable for the implementation and adoption of the NDNA Irish language legislation, and to do so within the current political mandate. It also called on the British and Irish Governments, as co-authors and co-guarantors of the NDNA Agreement, to intervene if the DUP failed to honour their commitments.

We do have concerns about this commitment, particularly given the British Government’s long standing failures to honour agreements and rights.

A number of days later, it was announced by the Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, that the NDNA Irish language legislation would be enacted at Westminster in October 2021, if the NI Executive failed to do so before September 2021. He also stated that the Irish language commissioner would be appointed by March 2022.

This was certainly a significant staging post in our long-standing campaign for language rights; for the first time since the St. Andrew’s Agreement in 2006, we received a public commitment from the British Government to enact the legislation.

An Dream Dearg commits to fight for the full implementation of this language legislation.

Of course, we do have concerns about this commitment, particularly given the British Government’s long standing failures to honour agreements and rights. But it is important to remember why it has gone this far; the DUP have consistently acted in bad faith and have demonstrated their total inability to accept long-standing human rights commitments.

An Dream Dearg commits to fight for the full implementation of this language legislation, for local delivery by September, and failing that, for the British Government to honour their latest commitment by October.

An Dream Dearg will not be mere spectators, we will be organising and setting our own campaigning agenda, just as we have done in recent years. We will continue to #SeasAnFód for #AchtAnois.