THERE has always been a tradition amongst republican prisoners when they were in jail to learn their native language stretching back over many years. In Long Kesh prison from the early 1970s internees and sentenced republican prisoners in the cages had learnt the Irish language throughout their imprisonment. I had learnt Irish when I was in the cages of Magilligan prison and Long Kesh, so I had some knowledge of Irish before I was on the blanket protest.
