OVER 1,700 pupils sat GCSE Irish this year, with the language having the highest pass percentage amongst all modern languages.
Of the 1,707 pupils who sat Irish 94.8 per cent of pupils achieved grades A*- C. This compares to 92.5 per cent who sat Spanish, 91.5 per cent who sat German, and 86.5 per cent who sat French.
322 pupils also sat the more advanced 'Gaeilge' exam, with a pass rate of 90.7 per cent.
Speaking about the results, Séamas Mac Eochaidh, Education Policy Manager with Gael Linn, said the they were an example of the continued hard work of Irish teachers, and of the buoyant Irish-medium education system.
"We welcome these results and the figures that show more students than ever are choosing to study Irish. Irish is the fastest-growing language at every school level, and at university level as well.
"It's interesting to note that although the number of pupils sitting GCSEs fell this year, the number of pupils sitting Irish continued to rise, with 11 per cent more sitting Irish this year."
Séamas praised the work of schools and summer colleges in changing attitudes towards the language.
"Public opinion towards Irish has hugely improved and changed because of the hard work of these groups.
"If we can continue to raise numbers at GCSE, strategically year after year, we believe that AS and A2 numbers will continue to rise even more."
And he referenced young people's different outlook on Irish now.
"There's no doubt that young people understand that Irish is a living language," he said. "There is a positive attitude towards Irish and these young people understand that this language, which is also a school subject, is alive in the environment around them."
Speaking about future developments, he referenced the need for more schools to offer the language at GCSE.
"If we want these figures to continue to rise, we have to make sure that more schools offer Irish.
"It's important that every pupil should be able to learn Irish, if they so wish."
