Advertising in the Irish Language: Why Getting It Right Matters More Than Ever
Irish is having a moment. Not in a nostalgic way, but in a real-world, cultural and commercial way. The latest audit from Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga confirms what many working in this space have already sensed: visibility is rising, investment is increasing, and the landscape is shifting.
Public bodies spent €19 million on Irish-language advertising in 2024, a 34% increase on 2023.
€5.2 million of that went directly to Irish-language media, a 37% year-on-year rise.
Most importantly, the 397 public bodies surveyed collectively met both statutory thresholds under Section 10A:
20.2% of all advertising is delivered in Irish, and 5.5% of spend is placed with Irish-language media.
This is a significant milestone. But meeting the legal baseline and creating work that resonates are two very different things.
Beyond Compliance: The Quality Opportunity
When I look at the landscape of Irish-language advertising in 2024, I see a sector that's taking the language seriously from a budget perspective. That's genuinely worth celebrating. The audit confirms that public bodies are meeting their obligations under Section 10A of the Official Languages Act.
But compliance and effectiveness aren't always the same thing. The report itself highlights an important issue: whilst the number of complaints about Irish-language advertising quality remains relatively low, there have been concerning instances of poor standards, whether in writing or pronunciation.
As the report notes, the various stakeholders involved in creating and releasing Irish-language advertising "must take responsibility for their roles in the quality assurance process, ensuring that Irish-language advertising is of a high standard."
Consider this: when organisations invest substantial budgets in campaigns, ensuring the quality of Irish-language elements becomes equally important. Yet across the sector, from public bodies to media planners to production partners, there's scope to raise standards.
The report emphasises that accuracy in Irish-language advertising is essential: "reflecting a commitment to linguistic excellence and being free from syntactic, grammatical, and spelling errors, whilst embracing the pronunciation, cadence, and rhythm of the Irish language in both video and audio formats." When Irish-language advertisements stem from translations of original English messages, this commitment to accuracy becomes even more critical.
What This Means for Your Advertising Strategy
If you're working with an Irish advertiser, or you are one, here's what you need to know:
1. Budget Allocation Isn't the End of the Story
Meeting legal thresholds is compliance. Creating campaigns that actually resonate is marketing. The gap between the two is where your competitive advantage lives.
2. The Entire Chain Matters
The report is clear on this: quality requires responsibility across "the various stakeholders involved in the creation and release of Irish-language advertising." This isn't about one person signing off on Irish copy. It's about building Irish-language competency into your entire creative and production process.
Ask yourself:
Who reviews your Irish-language creative?
Do your media planners understand Irish-language audience demographics and consumption patterns?
Are you working with translators or with copywriters who are Irish speakers? (Note: preference is 100% for the latter)
There's a difference.
3. Create Irish Creative Separately From the Start
Here's a critical principle: don't translate your English ads.
This is perhaps the most important recommendation for anyone serious about Irish-language advertising. The strongest Irish-language campaigns aren't translations of English creative - they're distinct pieces of work, conceived and developed specifically for Irish-speaking audiences from the very beginning.
The report highlights that Irish-language advertisements "can often stem from translations of original English messages," and this is precisely what undermines quality. Translation inevitably carries the syntax, rhythm, and cultural references of the source language. Even an excellent translation can't fully capture what makes Irish resonate as Irish.
Instead, the most effective approach is to develop Irish creative separately and in parallel with English creative from the initial briefing stage.
This means:
Briefing for both languages simultaneously: Your creative brief should address Irish-speaking audiences as a distinct audience with their own cultural touchpoints, not as English speakers who happen to understand Irish.
Separate creative development: Irish creative should be developed by Irish-speaking creatives who can think in Irish, not translate from English. The concepts, headlines, copy, and even visual approaches may differ significantly - and that's exactly as it should be.
Cultural authenticity: Irish-language creative that resonates draws on the lived experience, humour, references, and idioms of Irish speakers. This simply can't be achieved through translation.
Natural language flow: Irish has its own cadence, rhythm, and turn of phrase. Creative developed in Irish from the start will sound natural. Translated creative, no matter how technically accurate, often feels stilted.
This approach requires more investment upfront - you're essentially creating two campaigns rather than one campaign in two languages. But the results justify it. Irish speakers can immediately tell the difference between creative made for them and creative translated at them. If you're investing in Irish-language advertising, invest in doing it properly.
4. Quality Demonstrates Respect
The quality of your Irish-language advertising sends a message. When it's done well, it demonstrates genuine commitment to reaching and respecting Irish-speaking audiences. In a market where authenticity increasingly matters, this consideration is worth keeping front of mind.
Interestingly, the report shows that smaller public bodies (Category C, with advertising spend under €250,000) achieved the highest compliance rates: 28.3% against the 20% threshold and 11.2% against the 5% threshold. This suggests that budget size isn't necessarily the determining factor in producing quality Irish-language advertising.
The Opportunity Ahead
Here's what's particularly encouraging about these numbers: the infrastructure is developing rapidly.
Public sector spending reached 20.2% compliance for Irish-language advertising overall, and 5.5% for Irish-language media specifically, both exceeding the statutory thresholds when measured across all 397 public bodies. Investment in Irish-language media hit €5.2 million, a 37% increase from 2023.
Perhaps most significantly, new Irish-language media platforms have emerged since Section 10A came into force in October 2022. The report notes that media like An Páipéar, ExtraG Gach Seachtain, Scéal, Lasair.ie, and various podcasts have been established, significantly expanding the available "shelf space" for Irish-language advertising. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's decision in early 2024 to accept commercial advertising further expanded this inventory.
The question for public bodies isn't whether to use Irish in advertising (the legislation has decided that). The question is whether campaigns will meet the minimum requirements or embrace the opportunity to create genuinely effective Irish-language communications.
Why This Moment Matters: The Cultural Halo
Irish is not simply meeting legislative requirements. It is gaining cultural strength.
Figures like Kneecap, our new Uachtarán, Catherine Connolly, the late Manchán Magan, Hector Ó hEochagáin and the How to Gael cailíní have made the language feel current, confident and culturally alive. Irish has moved from something historical to something happening.
This creates a halo effect.
Public-sector Irish makes the language visible. Cultural voices make it desirable. Private-sector brands then start looking at Irish as an opportunity rather than an obligation.
The conditions for growth are all there.
The Bottom Line
Advertising in the Irish language continues to grow in spend, visibility, and importance. This trend looks set to continue.
The organisations that will succeed in this space are likely to be those that prioritise quality alongside investment. It's about creating communications that genuinely resonate, delivered in Irish that feels natural and respectful to the audience.
The infrastructure is developing. The budget is there. The audience is engaged.
There's a real opportunity to build on this foundation and create Irish-language advertising that truly connects.