The letter X does not exist in the Irish alphabet except in math, science, or proper names, nor do the letters J, K, Q, V, W, or Z.

Ireland has two official languages, English and Gaelic, more often called "Irish." Between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries, the Irish language was gradually replaced by English. It is said that the Irish are the only people who took the language of the oppressor and made it sing! Today only a small portion of the people speak Irish and most of them live on the west coast.

But the native language is in a time of deliberate revival. By order of the national government, names of towns on road signs in the west of Ireland will now have both the English and Irish spellings. For example, Dingle, a favorite tourist town in Southwest Ireland, will be written as Dingle and also as An Daingean (pronounced awn-DANG-in). This way both the English speakers and the Gaelic speakers will be sure to get there. Don't worry though. You can still sing the song "The Dingle Puck Goat" the way you always sang it, if you have a mind to!