Joe O'Connell (Irish republican) security wing of Portlaoise Prison, Ireland, in early 1998. They were presented by Gerry Adams to the 1998 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis as 'our Nelson Mandelas', and were released together with Brendan Dowd and Liam Quinn in 1999 as part of the Belfast Agreement. Joe O'Connell (Irish republican) Martin Joseph O'Connell (born 1951), better known as Joe, is an Irish republican and a former volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). He is most noted for having been a member of the Balcombe Street gang. O'Connell was born in Kilkee, in rural County Clare, 'a stronghold of Gaelic-speaking inhabitants
Irish language in Northern Ireland which translated means 'Red Hand to Victory'. Linda Ervine, the sister-in-law of former Ulster Volunteer Force member and politician David Ervine, began learning the language and set up the Turas Irish-Language Project in the predominately Unionist East Belfast area for others to learn the language in 2011. UK language legislation Irish language in Northern Ireland The Irish language (also known as Irish Gaelic) () is a recognised minority language in Northern Ireland. The dialect spoken there is known as Ulster Irish. Protection for the Irish language in Northern Ireland stems largely from the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.