The Native Irish Language Is Endangered — but You Can Still Hear It at This Small Café Near Galway

At Pota café, servers speak Gaeilge, the native Irish language.

Courtesy of Tourism Ireland; Dorling Kindersley ltd/Alamy Stock Photo

A view of the countryside in Connemara, Ireland; a road sign in English and Gaeilge in Connemara, Ireland.

At Pota, a café in the Irish village of Baile na hAbhann, near Galway, you’re less likely to hear “Can I take your order?” than “An féidir liom d’ordú a thógáil?” That’s because at Pota, all employees speak Gaeilge, the native Irish language, while on the job, and menus are written in Gaeilge.

Owner and chef Diarmuid Ó Mathúna, who is from Watergrasshill (Cnocán na Biolraí), in County Cork, created Pota as a place for Gaeilge speakers to practice the language in a natural, convivial setting. “Irish people are so polite,” Ó Mathúna says, “that they’ll very often resort to English even if they prefer to speak Irish, because they don’t want to offend or make anyone uncomfortable.” 

Courtesy of Pota Café

Diarmuid Ó Mathúna, the owner and chef of the Irish café Pota.

Though Gaeilge is taught in schools nationwide, it is considered endangered, according to the UNESCO World Atlas of Languages. It’s estimated that about 70,000 of Ireland’s 5 million inhabitantsspeak it daily; only 40 percent of the country’s residents report they can speak it at all.The language has been threatened by several factors, including the increasing dominanceof English, but many historians point to the Great Famine of the 1800s as a major reason for its decline.

Related: These Are the Best and Worst Times to Visit Ireland

Courtesy of Pota Café

Pota Café in Baile na hAbhann, Ireland

Pota — which sources ingredients from nearby producers, including cheese from Cáis Gabhair Árann, seaweed from Feamainn Orgánach Chonamara, and vegetables from An Garrai Glas — is committed to the heritage of Ireland as much its cuisine. The restaurant has hosted Irish-language talks on biodiversity, cooking demonstrations, and dinners for Irish-language advocacy groups like Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta. Of course, Ó Mathúna wants non-Irish speakers to feel welcome, too — he aims to show “not only Gaeilge’s existence but also its contemporary vibrancy.”

Courtesy of Pota Café (2)

The menu at Pota Café; quiche served at Pota Café

A version of this story first appeared in the November 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “Speak Now.”

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