Status of the Irish language from 40,000 up to 80,000 people. Areas in which the language remains a vernacular are referred to as "Gaeltacht" areas. Irish is the least widely spoken among the 24 official languages of the European Union. The use of the language in the Irish diaspora has been declining steadily. Irish speakers outside the Gaeltacht include both second-language speakers and native speakers who were raised and educated through Irish. They are sometimes known as and constitute an expanding minority, though of uncertain size. They are predominantly urban dwellers. Present trends make it likely that they represent the future of the language and
The Last Day in the Old Home The Last Day in the Old Home The Last Day in the Old Home is an oil-on-canvas painting made in 1862 by English painter Robert Braithwaite Martineau. It depicts a moralising scene at the home of a spendthrift country squire. The old furniture and paintings indicate that the fictional Pulleyne family has occupied Hardham Court for centuries, but the equine print in the lower left corner indicates the reason for the family's reduced circumstances: the father has gambled away the family fortune. The paintings and other contents are labelled ready for an auction sale on 22 October 1850, with a