Ireland’s Government-appointed Special Rapporteur on Racial Equality and Racism has sparked outrage after telling Irish people to abandon the country’s native language, repeatedly pleading with panelists: “Please, please, please stop it — please let it go. We don’t need to speak Irish.”
Nigerian-born Dr Ebun Joseph, who was appointed by the Government in 2024 as Ireland’s first Special Rapporteur on Racial Equality and Racism, made the remarks during a podcast discussion in which the Irish language was being debated. Joseph then appeared to mock the idea that African countries are somehow culturally backward, saying: “That’s what makes me laugh when they say Africa is backward. I’m like, stop it — [Ireland's] been doing this stuff for years.”
Irish is not merely a cultural curiosity but is constitutionally recognized as the national language and first official and native language of the State, and famously, was almost eradicated under British occupation, when Irish people were warned not to speak it. Britian's attempts to snuff out the Irish language first began in 1366 with the Statutes of Kilkenny, when English-controlled authorities restricted the use of Irish among English settlers and their children in Ireland. This prohibited them from adopting Irish customs and language.
The Flare reported that Joseph is routinely given air time and coverage on Irish media to promote anti-Irish rhetoric, funded by tax-payers. Joseph’s role is intended to 'provide an independent evaluation of the Government’s implementation of its National Action Plan Against Racism'.
Article 8 of the Constitution recognizes Gaeilge, which the language of the overwhelming majority of the population before centuries of violent political, economic and cultural domination by Britain, after which it fell into decline. The language became associated with poverty and disadvantage, while English increasingly became the language of administration, education and economic opportunity.
The Official Languages Act established a statutory framework for providing State services through Irish, while legislation passed in 2021 strengthened those protections. Joseph prides herself as having founded Ireland’s first university Black Studies module at UCD. "There is a striking irony in a foreign-born government official telling a historically oppressed people that they should surrender their native language, all while claiming to combat racial inequality," one person commented online.
