I can speak Irish fairly well but I have no idea what people are saying when they talk in Welsh. They are both Gaelic/Celtic originated, yet I can't understand a word. I've never heard Scottish or seen it written, so I can't comment how similar that is to Irish. Even though it is a compulsory subject in school, there are only a few towns in the country that speak Irish on an everyday basis. Not that it matters, considering English is the most widely spoken language in the world. However. it's still nice to keep our native language alive.