Almost every child in Ireland learns Irish at school. Road signs across the country are written in both Irish and English. Some parts of the country, called Gaeltacht areas, still speak Irish as their everyday language at home and in shops.
Irish looks unusual to readers used to English. It has lots of letters that combine in surprising ways. The word 'bhfuil' is said as 'will'. The name 'Saoirse' is said 'SEER-sha'. The name 'Niamh' is said 'NEEV'. The spelling looks tricky, but once you know the rules it is very logical.
Irish has given the world many famous words. The word 'galore' (meaning 'lots') comes from the Irish 'go leor'. 'Smithereens' (tiny broken pieces) comes from 'smidir铆n铆'. 'Whiskey' comes from 'uisce' (which just means 'water').
A few useful Irish phrases: 'Dia duit' means 'hello' (it literally means 'God be with you'). 'Sl谩n' means 'bye'. 'Go raibh maith agat' means 'thank you' - you say it 'guh-rev MAH agut'. Saying even a word or two of Irish in Ireland makes people smile.