Irish is more than just a language it represents Irish heritage and culture through the art of story telling, poetry, writing, singing and music. The earliest evidence of Irish appears in 4th century inscriptions and it was the most widely spoken language in Ireland up until the introduction by the British Government of the National School system, which prohibited the use of both written and spoken Irish language allowing only English to be taught. Another major factor was the Great Famine of the 1840s which decimated the South, West and Northwest of Ireland in particular where Irish remained as the first languae and where the majority of the Gaeltacht areas remain today.