Using a qualitative lens, this study investigates the role the Irish language classroom plays in Irish language maintenance in the Republic o f Ireland. Data collected in the form of participant observation, questionnaires, and interviews provided the information needed to explore this question. The findings of this study suggest that most students view the Irish language as a school subject in which they must succeed in order to graduate. While they recognize the cultural significance of the language, they do not view Irish as a vehicle of communication in their daily lives. As a result, while students are learning Irish, the transmissibility o f the language following secondary school is very low. Furthermore, emerging from this study is the need for a full immersion setting of language learning where students are able to speak the language socially and experience how the Irish language can become a language of their daily lives
