Search
28 Oct 2025
Search
28 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The appointment of an Irish and an Ulster Scots language commissioner has been welcomed.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly confirmed the appointment of Pol Deeds as the Irish language commissioner and Lee Reynolds as the commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British tradition.
Dr Katy Radford has also been appointed as director of the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression (OICE), and Brian Dougherty, Ellen Finlay, Stephen Moore, Dr Callie Persic and Dr Jacqueline Witherow as members of the OICE board.
All appointees will take up their posts on November 13 for a period of five years, Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly announced in a written ministerial statement to the Assembly.
The creation of the posts was committed to in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act which was passed in 2022, but a recruitment competition did not start until March 2025.
⭕️👏🏻 Lá stairiúil!
History has been made as The Executive Office today appoints both the Irish Language Commissioner and the Ulster-Scots Commissioner.
Tá an Ghaeilge ag dul ó neart go neart.
Gaeilge is flourishing in communities across the North, and the new Commissioner will… pic.twitter.com/hqYQHdnhQR
— Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) October 28, 2025
Conradh na Gaeilge and An Dream Dearg said the Irish language commissioner will be able to set best practice and new standards.
They said the Irish language commissioner will also have a duty to investigate complaints made with regards to non-compliance by public authorities in relation to the new language standards.
Conradh na Gaeilge president Ciaran Mac Giolla Bhein described the appointment as a “defining watershed in our campaign towards language rights and equality”.
“For the first time in our history, we will have a strong voice for language rights in the very heart of the state,” he said.
“We expect immediate guidance from the new Irish language commissioner on issues of urgent public interest.”
SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone welcomed the appointment of both commissioners.
“This is an opportunity to move on from the contention we have seen around these issues and to promote respect and accommodation for differing traditions,” he said.
“Everyone has the right to celebrate their culture and it’s deeply disappointing that this has so often been used as a political football.
“Attention must now turn to ensuring that the commissioners can begin their work and give the Irish language and Ulster Scots the proper place and recognition they deserve in public life.
“This has been a long-running saga, these rights have been hard won and people will want to see progress.”
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
