<P> Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD; this stage of the language is known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain . Primitive Irish transitioned into Old Irish through the 5th century . Old Irish, dating from the 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts . During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh, including ecclesiastical terms: examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus, and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica). </P> <P> By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish, which was spoken throughout Ireland and in Scotland and the Isle of Man . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish, dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic - speaking Scotland . Modern Irish, as attested in the work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating, may be said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on . </P> <P> From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country . The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: </P> <Ol> <Li> discouragement of its use by Anglo - British administrations </Li> <Li> the Catholic church supporting the use of English over Irish </Li> <Li> the spread of bilingualism from the 1750s, resulting in language shift </Li> </Ol>

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