Hey man, ya very similar to Aussie rules which is a great sport too, although our game is still amateur.
Gaeilge is making a resurgence now which is great as it was in danger of dying out. Some pockets of Ireland speak it as their first language, these areas are called Gaeltachts - this map shows some of them.

As you can see they are primarily in the West, I live just inside the Connemara one in Galway, so some of my friends I golf with are Irish speakers at home.
Everyone learns Irish from age 4 to 17 at school but for years the teaching methodology was lacking, and for me the emphasis should be on culture and the spoken word. Sláinte.
