Status of the Irish language Northern Ireland, including Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, learned Irish while in prison, a development known as the "Jailtacht". Although the language was taught in Catholic secondary schools (especially by the Christian Brothers), it was not taught at all in the controlled sector, which is mostly attended by Protestant pupils. Irish-medium schools, however, known as "Gaelscoileanna", were founded in Belfast and Derry and the Gaelscoileanna movement has since expanded to across much of Northern Ireland similar to its expansion in the Republic of Ireland. An Irish-language newspaper called "Lá" (later called "Lá Nua") produced by The Andersonstown News Group (later
Proinsias Mac Cana Proinsias Mac Cana Proinsias Mac Cana (6 July 1926 – 21 May 2004) was an academic and Celtic scholar. He held professorships at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies and University College Dublin. Proinsias Mac Cana was born in Belfast on 6 July 1936 to George McCann and his wife Mary Catherine, "née" Mallon; his Catholic parents were supporters of Irish nationalism. He attended Queen's University Belfast, graduating with a degree in Celtic languages in 1948. After a year at the Sorbonne, he completed a Master of Arts degree at Queen's, where he was appointed an assistant lecturer in 1951.