 Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Belfast in the north of Ireland on Saturday, May 21, demanding Irish language legislation, close to 17,000 people comprising of Irish speakers, political parties, sports clubs and community organizations marched demanding language recognition, respect and rights. The protesters marched to the Belfast City Hall where public meeting and arts events were organized. The Irish language campaign network on Dream Derg, the red group, was the key organizer of Saturday's protest. It's great to be out here today on the falls road marching into town with thousands of people, thousands of people out protesting for an Irish Language Act. It's great to see so many families and young people here. Of course there's been amazing growth in the Irish medium education sector over the last 20 odd years. And it's great to see not just to see so many young people here, but to hear so many people, and especially young people talking as Gaelic. It's a magnificent display here today. People have come from all over the north to participate in this. We need to see the Irish Language Act and we need to see it now. A key demand of the protesters was to pass a law which would give Irish equal rights with English, just like the Welsh Language Act passed by the UK government in the 90s. One of the aspects of the new decade, new approach deal of 2020 which restored the government of the north of Ireland was the official recognition of the Irish language. In fact, Irish language rights have been promised as part of agreements for a long time, including the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, St Andrews Agreement of 2006. However, the legislation has remained stuck ever since. Last June, the UK government had promised to pass the legislation at Westminster to break an impasse between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party over its introduction in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The government, however, failed to bring a bill within the set time. Moreover, tensions between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party over the Irish language legislation has been one of the key reasons the north of Ireland has been left without a ruling executive. Last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had vowed to deliver a cultural package in the coming weeks for the north of Ireland. This would include an office of identity and cultural expression, as well as an Irish language commissioner and a commissioner to develop language, arts and literature. The movement demanding legislation has received opposition from unionists who allege that it would provide employment opportunities only to people who speak Irish. A similar protest march demanding Irish language legislation was organized in 2017, which also saw huge mobilization. According to a 2011 UK census, in the north of Ireland, more than 184,000 people claim to have some knowledge of Irish and more than 104,000 people can speak the language. These protests come following the Sinn Féin victory in the north of Ireland and a growing movement demanding Irish unity.