evidence: For years, the group has been pushing for more Irish-medium schools, more investment, and the swift ratification of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill that would give Irish official status in Northern Ireland, as well as introduce measures to promote the little-used Ulster Scots language. The long-delayed bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons this month and will now proceed to the committee stage. [...] Niall Comer, a lecturer in Irish at Ulster University and former president of language advocacy group Conradh na Gaeilge, said the Irish language might have been considered divisive in the past but that is changing with many people recognising the educational benefits of bilingualism. He stressed that Irish language advocates never wanted to suggest that the language was the preserve of any one community or religious affiliation. [...] The famine, or Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór) as it is known in Ireland, of 1845-1849 had a devastating effect on the numbers of people who used Irish as their first language. Many Irish speakers were among the one million people who died of hunger or famine-related diseases like cholera or typhoid, or the estimated 2 million who fled across the sea to the United States. An estimated 100,000 would die en route, succumbing to horrific conditions on the so-called coffin ships.