bofors manuals

[Andrew Morrison]

Tend to also think that manuals were not translated however as the use of Irish was for political reasons thought it might have happened if not totally perhaps at a small or perhaps local level.

I believe the policy was introduced in the late thirties and removed in late 1941 early 1942. It was introduced by the politicians in an attempt to make people think of themselves as southern Irish with a seperate identity.

A change back to English was only done due to the war going on around them with the significant expansion of the military and the need to have clear and effective communications. Without the war there is no reason to think it would not have continued.

With this background and where nation building politics are involved some strange things which make no apparent sense can be done.

While the bulk of the population speaks English as a first language there are still plenty of places on the west coast where even today English is a second language. A tourist would be spoken to in English however a local would have to use Irish. Some of these are only 30 minutes drive from the border with the north.