Inside London's Booming Irish Language Revival

The Irish language is experiencing a significant boom in London in 2026, with demand for classes far outstripping supply. City Lit recorded a 57 per cent year-on-year increase in Irish enrolments. The London Irish Centre in Camden has a waiting list of around 2,000 people, and its recent Scoil na Gaeilge course sold out within 24 hours. At the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, 180 people attended a meditation class guided by phrases spoken in Irish and then immediately translated into English — many of those present were not yet speakers of the language. A 2026 Core Research survey found 60 per cent of adults think Irishness has become more visible in recent years, with acts such as Fontaines D.C., CMAT and Dermot Kennedy cited as contributing influences. Separately, Kneecap's album FENIAN reached number two on the UK Official Albums Chart in May. Post-Brexit Irish passport applications are also a factor, with an estimated six million Brits having at least one Irish grandparent. Key figures include Croí na Gaeilge founder Emily de Búrca, language instructor Pádraig O'Loingsigh — whose accredited class at the Irish Cultural Centre now carries a waiting list every term — and meditation developer Máire Ní Mhaolalaidh. The London Irish Centre's Camden home is undergoing a £36–38 million rebuild that will add London's first dedicated Irish theatre, a cinema and a public library. The project is named in the Irish government's Diaspora Strategy for 2026–2030.