Aisling Moloney

I'll give you three, four examples.

Catherine Connolly herself, who caused this by-election, she went back to relearning Irish and boning up on her Irish because while she was Galway City based and grew up in Galway City, she felt she could benefit from borrowing.

from her family's connections as Irish speakers in the South Connemara Gueltacht.

Michael D. Higgins was a fine Irish speaker.

Of course, Eamon O'Queave, forever, who managed to do a Houdini trick coming from almost Mayo.

down all the way down into the Gaeiltacht and into Galway City, Gaeilge was a huge, by no means the only, dynamic in that.

I could go on.

It's important.

It's important to Sinn Féin if a lot of your vote is...

nationally driven and Irish language friendly.

It's certainly a disadvantage and another lack of recognition, doubts about his vote-getting ability.

Irish language is another obstacle in that regard.

They're flying high, but by no means as high as they were.

They're some points ahead.

of a very embattled Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael.

Their last Sunday independent, from memory, was 22% for Sinn Féin.

Not as high as they were, should be higher.

Point is, if they are to be real about leading the next coalition, they're going to have to be picking up the second seat.

And if they can't pick up second seats in the party leaders' Bailey Week, in Irish-speaking West Galway, it's a poor lookout.

I don't think it was abundantly clear to anyone that there would be a further package after the first £250 million was given.