The Irish language is experiencing a genuine revival online. From Gaeltacht businesses to national organisations, from educational platforms to cultural bodies, there's growing demand for websites that serve Irish speakers — either fully as Gaeilge or in a bilingual format. And it's not just about ticking a compliance box. A well-built bilingual website can open your business to communities that actively prefer to engage in Irish, while signalling cultural respect that resonates with a much wider audience.

Whether you're a Gaeltacht business required to offer services in Irish, a public body meeting its obligations under the Official Languages Act, or simply a business that wants to connect with the Irish-speaking community, this guide covers the practical considerations of building an Irish language web presence — from the technical setup to the translation process, funding options, and SEO implications.

Who Needs an Irish Language Website?

Several types of organisations have a genuine need for Irish language websites. The most common include:

• Gaeltacht businesses — Serving communities where Irish is the daily language of commerce and conversation. In areas like Connemara, the Kerry Gaeltacht, and Donegal's Gaoth Dobhair, customers expect to interact in Irish.
• Public bodies and government departments — The Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 significantly strengthened Irish language requirements for public services, including digital services. All public bodies must ensure their websites meet these obligations. See our guide to public sector website design.
• Educational institutions — Gaelscoileanna, Gaelcoláistí, and Irish language courses need websites that reflect their Irish-medium identity. Parents researching these schools expect to find information in Irish.
• Cultural organisations — GAA clubs, Comhaltas branches, Irish language festivals, and community groups often want their digital presence to reflect the culture they promote.
• Tourism businesses in Gaeltacht areas — Visitors to Gaeltacht regions appreciate and expect bilingual signage and web content. It's part of the cultural experience they're seeking.
• Businesses funded by Údarás na Gaeltachta — Grant recipients often have bilingual delivery requirements as a condition of their funding.

Beyond these core groups, any Irish business that wants to demonstrate cultural commitment and differentiate itself from competitors can benefit from offering at least some content in Irish. The goodwill it generates — particularly on social media — often exceeds what businesses expect.

Bilingual vs Fully Irish Language Websites

You have three main approaches, and the right choice depends on your audience and objectives.

A fully Irish language website works best for organisations whose entire audience speaks Irish — certain Gaeltacht community services, Irish language media outlets like TG4 or Raidió na Gaeltachta, and dedicated Irish language education providers. If your audience is exclusively Irish-speaking, a monolingual Irish site provides the most natural user experience.

A bilingual website with a language toggle is the most common and versatile approach. Visitors can switch between Irish and English at any point, and the site remembers their preference as they navigate between pages. This serves both Irish speakers and English speakers equally well, making it ideal for businesses and organisations with a mixed audience.

An English-first site with key content in Irish is the lightest approach. Selected pages, sections, or elements appear in Irish — perhaps your 'About Us' page, key headings, or specific landing pages targeting Irish-speaking communities. This works well for businesses dipping their toes into bilingual content without the commitment of translating the entire site.

For most businesses, the full bilingual approach with a language toggle gives you the best balance of accessibility, inclusivity, and search visibility. It shows genuine commitment rather than tokenism, and it creates separate Irish-language pages that can rank in their own right in Google.

Technical Considerations for Bilingual Websites

Language Switching

A clear, easy-to-find language switcher is the foundation of any bilingual website. Place it in the header or navigation bar where visitors expect it — top right is the most common convention. Use the text 'Gaeilge/English' rather than abbreviations or flag icons alone (flags represent countries, not languages, and the tricolour doesn't represent Northern Irish speakers well).

Make sure the language preference persists as visitors navigate between pages. Nothing frustrates a bilingual user more than switching to Irish on the homepage only to be bounced back to English on the next page they visit. Good multilingual plugins handle this automatically through cookies or session storage.

URL Structure

For bilingual sites, you need a clear URL structure that both visitors and search engines can understand. The three common approaches are:

• Subdirectories — yourbusiness.ie/ga/ for Irish, yourbusiness.ie/en/ for English. This is usually the simplest to manage and best for SEO because all content lives under one domain.
• Subdomains — ga.yourbusiness.ie for Irish, en.yourbusiness.ie for English. Slightly more complex to set up and Google treats subdomains somewhat independently.
• Separate domains — yourbusiness.ie for English and yourbusiness.ga or a different domain for Irish. Most complex and generally not recommended unless you have a very specific reason.

Subdirectories are the recommended approach for most businesses. They keep everything under one roof, share domain authority between language versions, and are the easiest to maintain long-term.

Hreflang Tags

Hreflang tags are snippets of HTML code that tell Google which language version of a page to show to which audience. For an Irish/English bilingual site, each page needs hreflang tags pointing to both its Irish and English versions. This prevents Google from treating the two language versions as duplicate content and ensures Irish speakers see the Irish version in their search results.

The language code for Irish is 'ga' (from Gaeilge) — not 'ie', which is the country code. Getting this wrong is a common mistake that can confuse search engines. Your hreflang implementation should look something like: <link rel="alternate" hreflang="ga" href="https://yourbusiness.ie/ga/page"> and <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://yourbusiness.ie/en/page">.

Content Management Systems for Bilingual Sites

WordPress handles multilingual content well with dedicated plugins. The three main options are:

• WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) — The most established option, supporting 40+ languages including Irish. Costs from €39/year. Manages translations, menus, widgets, and custom fields across languages.
• Polylang — A lighter alternative with a generous free version. Good for smaller sites with straightforward translation needs. Pro version costs €99/year for additional features.
• TranslatePress — Offers a visual, front-end translation interface where you can translate content directly on the live page rather than in the admin panel. Starts from €79/year.

All three let you manage Irish and English versions of each page side by side, maintain separate menus and widgets for each language, and keep the site easy to update in both languages. For most business websites, WPML or Polylang are the most reliable choices.

Irish Language Content: Getting the Translation Right

Why Professional Translation Matters

Machine translation (Google Translate, DeepL) does not handle Irish well. The grammar, syntax, and idiom of Irish are sufficiently different from English that machine translation produces awkward, often incorrect results. Irish has a VSO (verb-subject-object) word order, complex initial mutations (séimhiú and urú), and grammatical structures with no English equivalent. AI translation tools are improving, but they're nowhere near reliable enough for professional content.

Irish speakers will immediately recognise machine-translated text, and rather than building goodwill, it signals that you didn't care enough to do it properly. For a professional website, always use a qualified Irish language translator or translation service.

Finding Professional Irish Translators

Organisations like Foras na Gaeilge and Conradh na Gaeilge maintain directories of professional translators. Many freelance Irish translators specialise in web and marketing content — look for someone with experience in your sector who understands that web copy needs to be concise, clear, and engaging in both languages. Budget for professional translation from the start rather than treating it as an afterthought. Expect to pay €0.10–€0.15 per word for professional Irish translation, which means a 20-page site with 15,000–20,000 words of content might cost €1,500–€3,000 for translation alone.

Choosing the Right Dialect Standard

Irish has three main regional dialects — Connacht (Connemara), Munster (Kerry/Cork), and Ulster (Donegal) — with different vocabulary, pronunciation patterns, and expressions. For a business website, you need to decide which standard to follow and be consistent throughout.

An Caighdeán Oifigiúil (the Official Standard) is the safest choice for most business and organisational websites. It's understood by speakers of all dialects and is the standard used in government, education, and media. Gaeltacht businesses, however, may prefer their local dialect to connect authentically with their community — a Connemara business writing in the Ulster dialect would feel odd to local customers.

Design Considerations for Irish Language Text

Irish text is often 15–20% longer than its English equivalent. This has practical implications for your website design that need addressing from the wireframing stage. Buttons, navigation items, headings, and call-to-action text all need testing with the Irish versions to ensure nothing overflows, truncates, or breaks your layout.

Pay particular attention to navigation menus (Irish menu items may be significantly longer than English ones), form labels and button text, table headers, and any text that appears in fixed-width containers. A responsive design approach with flexible text containers handles these length differences naturally, but it needs to be considered during design rather than bodged in afterwards.

SEO for Irish Language Content

Irish language search volume is smaller than English, but it's growing — and competition is dramatically lower. This creates a genuine opportunity for businesses willing to invest in Irish language SEO. Ranking for Irish language terms can be remarkably easy precisely because so few websites target them.

To maximise your Irish language search visibility, make sure each Irish language page has its own unique meta title and description written in Irish (not just translated from English — write them natively). Use Irish language keywords naturally in headings and body content. Implement hreflang tags correctly so Google knows which version to serve to which audience. Submit both language versions in your XML sitemap. Build some Irish language backlinks by getting listed in Irish language directories and resources.

Irish language social media content can also drive traffic to your bilingual site. Platforms like Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok have active Irish language communities, and content posted as Gaeilge often gets disproportionate engagement from a passionate and loyal audience.

Funding for Irish Language Websites

Businesses and organisations building Irish language websites may be eligible for specific funding that can significantly offset development and translation costs:

• Údarás na Gaeltachta — Provides grants for Gaeltacht businesses, including digital and web development projects. If your business is based in a Gaeltacht area, this is your first port of call.
• Foras na Gaeilge — Supports Irish language projects and content creation across the island of Ireland, including digital initiatives and website development.
• Trading Online Voucher — The Trading Online Voucher (worth up to €2,500) can be used for bilingual website development, covering both the technical build and translation costs.
• LEO and Enterprise Ireland grants — Various grant schemes may cover bilingual web development as part of broader digital transformation projects.
• Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media — Occasionally runs specific schemes supporting Irish language digital content.

Many of these funding sources can be combined. A Gaeltacht business could potentially use an Údarás na Gaeltachta grant alongside the Trading Online Voucher to cover a significant portion of their bilingual website costs. Contact your Local Enterprise Office for guidance on which schemes you're eligible for.

Maintaining a Bilingual Website

Building a bilingual site is one thing — keeping it up to date is another. Every time you update your English content, you need to update the Irish version too. This ongoing translation requirement is something businesses often underestimate.

Build a relationship with your translator so they understand your business and can turn around updates quickly. Some businesses batch their translation work monthly, updating all changed content in one go. Others maintain a standing arrangement with their translator for ongoing small updates. Whichever approach you choose, budget for ongoing translation in your website maintenance costs.

If you let the Irish version fall behind the English version, you're actually worse off than not having it at all — outdated Irish content suggests neglect and undermines the cultural commitment you're trying to demonstrate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my business legally required to have an Irish language website?

Private businesses are generally not legally required to offer services in Irish. However, public bodies have significant obligations under the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, including providing digital services in Irish. Gaeltacht-based businesses funded by Údarás na Gaeltachta may have bilingual requirements as part of their funding conditions. Even where not legally required, offering Irish language content can differentiate your business, build community goodwill, and open doors to funding you wouldn't otherwise qualify for.

How much does it cost to build a bilingual website?

The web development cost for a bilingual site is typically 30–50% more than a single-language site, covering the multilingual plugin setup, additional template configuration, URL structure implementation, and testing across both languages. Translation costs vary by volume — expect €0.10–€0.15 per word for professional Irish translation. For a 20-page site with 15,000–20,000 words of content, budget approximately €1,500–€3,000 for translation on top of the development premium. Total additional cost over a monolingual site: roughly €3,000–€6,000 depending on site size and complexity. Check our guide to web design packages for typical baseline pricing.

Can I use Google Translate for the Irish version?

We'd strongly advise against it for any professional website. Machine translation of Irish is unreliable and can produce embarrassing or incomprehensible results. Irish speakers will immediately recognise machine-translated text, and it undermines rather than builds credibility. Even as AI translation improves, Irish remains a language where human translation is essential for professional-quality output. Use a professional translator — it's an investment that protects your reputation.

Do many people actually search in Irish online?

The number is growing steadily. Ireland has approximately 1.7 million people with some Irish language ability, and the daily speaking population in Gaeltacht areas actively uses Irish online. Irish language social media, podcasts, YouTube channels, and online content have expanded significantly in recent years. For businesses in Gaeltacht areas or those serving Irish-speaking communities, Irish language search visibility is directly relevant to reaching customers. And because competition for Irish language search terms is so low, even modest content can rank well.

How do I keep both language versions in sync?

Build translation into your content update workflow rather than treating it as a separate task. When you update English content, flag it for translation immediately. Good multilingual plugins like WPML show which pages are out of sync between languages, making it easy to track what needs attention. Maintaining a standing relationship with a professional translator ensures updates don't languish in a to-do list.

What accessibility standards apply to bilingual sites?

The same WCAG 2.1 AA standards apply to both language versions. Your Irish content needs the same level of accessibility as your English content — proper heading structure, alt text for images, keyboard navigability, and sufficient colour contrast. For public sector bilingual sites, this is a legal requirement. Use our accessibility checklist to audit both language versions.

Related Resources

Public Sector Website Design · Trading Online Voucher Guide · Website Grants & Funding · WordPress Website Design · SEO Audit Checklist · Content Audit Checklist · Accessibility Checklist · Website Maintenance Costs · Website Redesign Checklist