Contents Acknowledgements Figure 1 Map illustrating Language Planning Process Figure 2 Transcription protocol Chapter 1: Re-thinking the Sociolinguistics of Irish Introduction Disrupting old ideas, creating new tensions Giving a voice to new speakers John's story Bernie's story Outline of book Chapter 2: New speakers, new paradigms? Building a theoretical framework Introduction New speaker research: origins and developments New speakers and broader debates around language and society Native speaker ideologies in language revitalisation movements New speakers, new paradigms? New speakers of minority languages: questions of authenticity, authority, and legitimacy Rethinking new labels and frameworks Conclusion Chapter 3: National, official and minoritised: the context and background of Irish Introduction Revival period and new speakers Phases of language policy and new speakers Gaeltacht Legal and administrative status Irish in the education system Standardisation Irish in Northern Ireland Recent policy initiatives and Irish language networks Conclusion Chapter 4: Becoming a new speaker of Irish Introduction Fieldwork conducted by John Clár Karen Roibeárd Cian Jason Fieldwork conducted by Bernie Máire Joanne Liam Micheál Jane Conclusion Chapter 5: New speakers of Irish and identities Introduction Irish speakers and identities Primary Irish-speaking identity Irish language identity linked to standard language or dialect Ambiguous or mixed linguistic identity Primary English-speaking identity Intersection of linguistic and sexual identities Conclusion Chapter 6: Ciorcail chomhrá - 'safe spaces' for the cúpla focal Introduction The ciorcal comhrá phenomenon Safe spaces and 'breathing spaces' for the language New speakers at Cluain Lí Tá cúpla focal agam - 'I have the few words' The ciorcal comhrá as a 'safe place' to use Irish Expert speakers and the native speaker ideology Beyond the ciorcal comhrá : the Gaeltacht as an authentic space Conclusion Chapter 7: Conclusions New speaker stories Theoretical insights from the study Policy implications New speakers and the Gaeltacht References Index.