Has anyone else noticed how many Irish people drop the four or five foreign words they remember from school into conversations with foreigners? And have you noticed they are always in the wrong language? A German will get bonjour and gracias. A Spaniard will get guten tag and merci. A Frenchman will get hola and danke. Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish - well, they get all of the above and maybe a go raibh maith agat thrown in.

In fairness, the Polish, being here in such numbers, do a little better. They get a cześć sometimes. If it weren’t pronounced chest, it would count as the sole occasion the correct language is used.

I think the Polish barman in my local has gotten used to it now. He’s stopped wetting himself every time a customer says danke. Although it may be due to the owner’s policy that the floor remain dry for safety reasons. I’ll get back to you on this.

Noel was in the pub on Saturday. Now Noel is not one for reading beyond the soccer headlines. His favourite joke is the one about the similarity between a battery and a woman’s butt. (It was funny the first time). He has his talents though - he can wire a plug in 6 seconds flat. Which is a useful skill given that he’s an electrician. He can also do the crossword in The Mirror in less than two hours. That is despite filling in stool for item used by an artist and heffer for young female cow, he manages to make everything fit.

Tadek held his water that afternoon although Noel insisted on paying for his pints with a cheery danke schön, das ist gut. Actually, it was more like tankie shoon, das ist good.

Pubs are like crèches - the conversation can switch from one subject to another in milliseconds for no apparent reason. Someone mentioned Cadbury’s Cream Eggs which led to Ireland’s entry in the Eurovision - They Can’t Stop The Spring, to be performed (in capital letters it would seem) by Dervish. Noel was in his element now. He knows all about Dervish and with beaming pride he explained to Tadek that he shouldn’t worry if he couldn’t understand the lyrics. They are in Irish and no-one, not even the Irish understand them.

Poor Noel not only has a problem with foreign languages, he also seems to have difficulty with the two spoken on this island.

A French prostitute wishing to ply her trade in a Gaeltacht area is informed by the local pimp that due to an oversupply of Latvian hookers she will be restricted to working after 6:30.

She came to be known locally as Leath uair tar éis a sé.

[US readers. Just trust me. This is fekin hilarious!]

The Irish Independent , Breaking News.ie and others reported on Saturday that more people attended Irish language courses in the Gaeltacht in 2006 than ever before.

According to Éamon Ó Cuív, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (and sometimes, the Islands), “Irish is alive and kicking”. Ok. Agreed.

Then he went on to credit this kicking to “TG4, the Language Act and the recent statement by the Government in relation to the language”. Bullshit, minister. Seafóid, if you prefer.

TG4? Yes. For sure. The Language Act and any statement by the Government, recent or not? No way Éamó. You, of all people, cannot claim to have fostered the Irish language in any constructive way. Pushing it down our throats has been shown not to work. Have you learned nothing from the way your grandfather tried to make us a nation of gombeen men?

Sorry, but I’m only paying out on TG4. And what a payout it is. TG4 can achieve more in one week of programming than 15 years of school. It has shown the language to be fun, vibrant and modern. Not that it wasn’t before. TG4 simply proved it.

Anyone with small kids will tell you they are just has happy watching Clifford or Dora the Explorer dubbed in Irish as they are with the original. They are equally at home with Scéalta an Dragúin and Tec an Tarracóir. While watching these cartoons they are absorbing the language like sponges. Oh, that reminds me. There’s also Spongebob Squarepants as Gaeilge.

Older kids enjoy Aifric because they identify with the issues the comedy-drama deals with. For those of you don’t know of it, it could be described as an intelligent child’s That’s So Raven.

The adult soap Ros na Rún has tackled topics the producers of RTE’s Fair City would run from.

TG4 produces world class documentaries. Under the Fíorscéal banner TG4 has looked at the plight of children taken from Australian Aboriginal mothers in the 50’s through the 70’s, the street children of Rio and slave labour in Vietnam to mention but a few.

In the realm of sport it has coverage of more GAA matches than RTE. It does not shy from showing Ladies football which may be thought not to produce the advertising revenue of Mens. It has had the rights to air Wimbledon, the Tour de France and the World Snooker championship.

As a result adults just like the kids are learning the language. Even if they are reading the subtitles they are listening to it and, perhaps unwittingly, absorbing it.

At the risk of being unPC, what hot blooded male could not enjoy Irish when spoken by babes like Síle Ní Bhraonáin, Aoife Ní Thuarisg or ex-TG4 presenter Gráinne Seoige? Remember the ads for Paisean Faisean? Yes you do. You loved them. They were banned eventually. TG4 was using sex to sell their product. And why not? Speaking Irish doesn’t make you frigid.

All of this has made Irish more acceptable and even popular in everyday life.

The Bóthar charity ran its radio campaign this Christmas as Gaeilge. Ok, people got the message as they had heard it in English in previous years. But they also picked up on the new tag-lines. I have witnessed bus passengers in fits of giggling when one wag mimicked the goat from the ad by repeatedly asking the driver “an bhuilimid ann fós? An bhuilimid ann fós?”

Having a chat as Gaeilge in a pub no longer produces sneers and jibes. In my own local, non-speakers are more likely to eavesdrop in the hope they understand enough to jump into the conversation and start an argument (in English).

Gael Scoileanna are regrettably having to turn pupils away.

More and more racehorses are being given Irish names. Just the day after the Minister made his statement Saoirse Déardaoin, Mo Cushla [sic.], Giolla Dé and Féichead Ghrá were all placed. Many more also ran. Ok, I admit I know some owners who give their horses Irish names in the expectation of running them in the UK and having a great laugh at the British commentators’ attempts at pronouncing them. But at least these owners can pronounce them and know what these names mean. They are still displaying pride in the language.

Yes, Minister Éamó, Irish is alive and kicking. But sorry, no, your Language Act and your government’s statements cannot claim the credit that is TG4’s. The government may have gotten the ball rolling by approving the station’s foundation, but the management and staff of TG4 have taken that ball and run with it further than ever expected. You are just riding on their coat tails.