On this page you will find examples of the use of the Irish typeface in various media, past and present. The collection will be added to gradually.
The Typing
Long ago, when Irish people lived in Ireland, and before there was any mention of computers, mechanical machines called ‘typewriters’ were used to write important or official texts. Not all typewriters had the same style of lettering, and the illustrations below show two different styles.
See an example of this style in PDF format here .
See an example of this style in PDF format here .
Michael Everson has released digital versions of the above typing styles of ‘Derry’ and ‘Tara’ in recent years.
The Computer
Is there a renaissance for the Irish typeface in this age of computing? It’s hard to say. Certainly more fonts have been issued in recent years than have been issued in any other period since the printing of Irish began in the late 16th century. It is also true that it is now as easy for the person with the appropriate facilities to process text in the Irish font as it is in the Roman font. But after all, it must be acknowledged that so far little use has been made of Irish print in the most important area of the digital world – that is, here on the world wide web. And it’s not damp for this site …
But there is a corruption, and one of the best efforts to adapt new technology and the Irish font can be seen on the site entitled The Speaker of Hope with the Czech Irishman Michal Boleslav Mechura If you select the button labeled ‘Cló Gaelach’ in the right hand column, this is the sort of thing you will see on the site – if you are lucky:
Pictures
The pictures below show some of the font styles that have been in use for the past century, from the beginning of the renaissance era to our own time. No attempt was made to classify the diagrams in terms of period or function as it was thought that their effect would be greater if different examples appeared together. To travel east or west among the pictures below, select the right or left arrow respectively.