By the 1880s and probably many years before that, most Irish people were speaking English. Census records from 1881 in England and 1901 in Ireland show that any of the Irish-born people I was looking for were all English speakers. The Irish language had sadly been erased throughout most of the country with the exception of the furthest-flung parts of the country i.e. parts of Cork, parts of Kerry, and western Galway. This applies to people of any educational background. Can't answer the question on the cost of a ticket from Ireland to the US, but if you hunt up an almanac it should tell you the value of a pound in the 1880s to a dollar today. 'Go raibh maith agat' is the Irish for 'Thank you' in the singular; 'Go raibh maith agaibh' if you're thanking several people. Best wishes, Debby Raymond a Celtic Australian.

Debby, When the census returns state that the person spoke English didn't necessarily mean that they used that as the first language only that they were capable of speaking the English language! Indeed when I was a lad (not so many moons ago) we spoke the Irish language here in Wexford, indeed where I live now we have one of the most prolific locations in Wexford for speaking it! I of course have (like most people of my age group) forgotten most of it! My lad speaks it and he was born in Wales of all places! It is still taught in almost every school in Ireland and in fact if you want a job in the Government sector you must have some degree of the Irish Language to qualify for the positions. Teaching jobs cannot be got without the language, would you believe, this includes Science and Maths Teachers! slan Cyril Newsome Loch Garman... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Debby Raymond" <debbyraymond@hotmail.com> To: <IRL-WICKLOW-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 2:25 PM Subject: Re: [Wicklow] Basic Questions > By the 1880s and probably many years before that, most Irish people > were speaking English. Census records from 1881 in England and 1901 in > Ireland show that any of the Irish-born people I was looking for were > all English speakers. The Irish language had sadly been erased > throughout most of the country with the exception of the > furthest-flung parts of the country i.e. parts of Cork, parts of > Kerry, and western Galway. This applies to people of any educational > background. > Can't answer the question on the cost of a ticket from Ireland to the > US, but if you hunt up an almanac it should tell you the value of a > pound in the 1880s to a dollar today. > 'Go raibh maith agat' is the Irish for 'Thank you' in the singular; > 'Go raibh maith agaibh' if you're thanking several people. > Best wishes, > Debby Raymond > a Celtic Australian. > > > ==== IRL-WICKLOW Mailing List ==== > Have you put something down the list lately that would make someones day, like a link to a good site, a headstone, a snip of information, you found but didnt need? > > ============================== > New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > > >