One of the Republic of Ireland's national languages, Irish, is also known as Gaelic, Erse, or Irish Gaeilge and is part of the Celtic language group. Historical records indicate that the language traces its roots to around 600 AD, while Irish literature appeared around the eighth century.
Nowadays, official documents in Ireland are published in both Irish and English in cognizance of the constitutional provision that Irish be the primary official language and English the secondary. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, Irish is officially recognized as a minority language. Public school education in Ireland includes the teaching of Irish, and some civil-service jobs have it as a requirement.
