Irish A-levels up 30% in a year as language closes in on top spot in Northern Ireland.
Posted by Jim on August 14, 2026
Figures show 375 entries for A-level Irish this summer, up 30.7 percent from 287 last year.
The number of students taking A-level Irish in Northern Ireland has jumped by almost a third in a single year, marking the biggest increase of any language at A-level in the north.
By Conor Sheils
August 14, 2026 at 6:00am BST
The number of students taking A-level Irish in Northern Ireland has jumped by almost a third in a single year, marking the biggest increase of any language at A-level in the north.
Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications show 375 entries for A-level Irish this summer, up 30.7 percent from 287 last year.
This marks an increase of 88 students from the 12 months previous.
The rise far outstrips the other languages available to A-level students in the north.
Spanish, which remains the most popular language at A-level here, rose 14.6 percent to 416 entries.
German was up 8.2 percent to 53, while French entries were effectively static at 227, down from 228.
Irish is now within 41 entries of overtaking Spanish as the most popular second language studied at A-level in Northern Ireland amid predictions that it will become the most popular language within 12 months.
Meanwhile, students taking the subject also performed strongly in this year’s exams.
More than half (53.9 percent) achieved an A or A*, up from 51.9 percent last year.
That is the second-highest attainment rate of any subject in the north with more than 100 entries, behind only Further Mathematics on 70.4 percent.
However, the proportion awarded an A* in Irish dipped slightly, from 10.5 percent to 9.3 percent.
Boys recorded the sharpest improvement of any group in the subject.
The proportion of male candidates achieving A or above rose from 41.9 percent to 54.1 percent, putting them just 0.3 percentage points ahead of their female counterparts whose rate stands at 53.8 percent.
Entries rose among both, with 135 boys and 240 girls sitting the exam, up 28.6 percent and 31.9 percent respectively.
Further growth for the subject appears likely as AS-level Irish entries rose by 22.4 percent this year to 672.
Taken together, Irish entries across AS and A-level climbed from 836 to 1,047, a rise of 25.2 percent.
Dr Niall Comer, Senior Lecturer in Irish at Ulster University told The Irish News that he believes the rise is down to the increase in opportunities for students to use Irish outside of the classroom.
“The remarkable growth in A-level Irish should be seen as evidence of what can happen when a language is supported by a joined-up educational and community infrastructure,” he said.
“The work of teachers, Ulster University, with its specialist A-Level courses and school visits, alongside organisations such as An Gréasán, Gael Linn and Comhaltas Uladh, has created opportunities for young people to experience Irish beyond the classroom and to see a genuine progression route from school into further and higher education.
“At the same time, increased demand for Irish in education, broadcasting, translation, public services and the community sector means that pupils can increasingly associate proficiency in the language with real employment opportunities.
“With Irish already the second most popular language at A level, the scale of the latest increase suggests that it could become Northern Ireland’s largest A-level language as early as 2027 – particularly as this year has seen a significant growth in students studying Irish at GCSE.”
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