In general, this period was one of a retrenchment following the
earlier ambitious attempts to promote the language on a truly
national basis, and the focus narrowed to focus on existing
speakers and those with a strong interest in acquiring or
improving Irish language skills. The Irish economy in this
period was in deep recession and emigration, which had abated
suring the 1970s, was again a feature of Irish life. Many
organisations found themselves having to adapt to the new
climate of austerity, and Gael Linn was no exception. The scene
was set by the decision by the RTÉ Authority to end sponsored
programmes on Raidio Éireann, which meant that the weekly
sponsored radio programme was broadcast for the last time on the
29th of December 1980. Gael Linn began to develop links with
bodies engaged in similar struggles in other countries. In 1981,
it organised a seminar in Dublin on the position of the lesser-
used languages of Europe, and over a number of years it became
active in promoting the cause of the lesse