A penal law-era piece of British legislation banning the use of Irish in courts has been repealed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn.
The Administration of Justice (Language) Act 1737 stated that all proceedings in courts of justice, patents, charters, pardons and commissions “shall be in English”.
A commitment to repeal the Act was made under language rights legislation which passed through the House of Lords and House of Commons in October 2022.
A Conradh na Gaeilge spokesman said the organisation was informed by the Northern Ireland Office on Tuesday that Mr Benn had repealed the Act.
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The move was flagged in correspondence received by Conradh na Gaeilge, dated February 17th, in which Mr Benn said he was “pleased to confirm” that he would start the section 4 provision to repeal the Act “during the last week of February”.
He added that implementation of the Act “including these provisions, is a matter for the Executive”.
As a result, guidelines setting out the use of Irish in legal, court and tribunal settings following the removal of the ban will now fall to North Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Naomi Long MLA.
Describing the move as “an incredibly historic moment for the Irish language community”, newly elected president of Conradh na Gaeilge Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin said that it represents a “major victory against centuries of exclusion and discrimination that is testament to the power and resolve of our community”.
While similar legislation was repealed in Wales, Scotland and the Republic “long, long ago”, Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said Irish speakers in the North had been left behind, “as an ongoing legacy of colonial policy designed to eradicate the Irish language from all vestiges of public life”.
Calling on Ms Long to bring forward “robust guidelines” on the use of Irish in the legal sphere, Niall Murphy from KRW Law added that repeal of the penal-era law represents “a major milestone in the ongoing journey towards comprehensive language rights for Irish speakers” in North Ireland.
“This watershed moment in the Irish language movement must have a real-life and practical impact on all of those people who chose to live their lives through the Irish language, ending centuries of marginalisation and exclusion from public life,” Mr Murphy said.
The promised announcement is expected to be made by Mr Benn via a commencement order in the House of Commons this week.
