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The Gaelic revival ( ga, Athbheochan na Gaeilge) was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
(also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...
,
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
,
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
,
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, arts, etc.). Irish had diminished as a spoken tongue, remaining the main daily language only in isolated rural areas, with English having become the dominant language in the majority of Ireland. Interest in Gaelic culture was evident early in the nineteenth century with the formation of the Belfast Harp Society in 1808 and the Ulster Gaelic Society in 1830, and later in the scholarly works of
Robert Shipboy MacAdam Robert Shipboy MacAdam (1808-1895) was an Irish antiquary, folklorist and linguist and was the most active figure among the Belfast Presbyterians prominent in the early Irish-language revival. He was a secretary of ''Cuideacht Gaoidhilge Uladh'' ( ...
, John O'Donovan and
Eugene O'Curry Eugene O'Curry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Comhraí or Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary. Life He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and ...
, and the foundation of the
Ossianic Society The Ossianic Society was an Irish literary society founded in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day, 1853, taking its name from the poetic material associated with the ancient narrator Oisín. History Founding members included John O'Daly, William Elliot ...
. Concern for spoken Irish led to the formation of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language in 1876, and the Gaelic Union in 1880. The latter produced the ''
Gaelic Journal The ''Gaelic Journal'' ( ga, Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge) was a periodical publication "exclusively devoted to the preservation and cultivation of the Irish Language". According to Tomas O Flannghaile it was "the first journal devoted to the living ...
''. Irish traditional sports were fostered by the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
, founded in 1884. The
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
() was established in 1893 by
Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill ( ga, Eoin Mac Néill; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Cea ...
and other enthusiasts of Gaelic language and culture. Its first president was
Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...
. The objective of the League was to encourage the use of Irish in everyday life in order to counter the ongoing
anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influe ...
of the country. It organised weekly gatherings to discuss
Irish culture The culture of Ireland includes language, literature, music, art, folklore, cuisine, and sport associated with Ireland and the Irish people. For most of its recorded history, Irish culture has been primarily Gaelic (see Gaelic Ireland). It has ...
, hosted conversation meetings, edited and periodically published a newspaper named , and successfully campaigned to have Irish included in the school curriculum. The League grew quickly, having more than 48 branches within four years of its foundation and 400 within 10. It had fraught relationships with other cultural movements of the time, such as the Pan-Celtic movement and the
Irish Literary Revival The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, nicknamed the Celtic Twilight) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes works of poetry, music, art, and literature. O ...
. Important writers of the Gaelic revival include , Patrick Pearse () and .


Early movements


The Belfast "renaissance"

The
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
"renaissance of Irish music", that saw the staging of the Belfast Harpers Assembly in July 1792,Sara C. Lanier, «"It is new-strung and shan't be heard": nationalism and memory in the Irish harp tradition». in: ''British Journal of Ethnomusicology''; Vol. 8, 1999 has been seen as "the precursor by a century of the Irish Gaelic Revival", and to have been "the beginning of a long association between northern Protestants" and the struggle to preserve and advance the Irish language". In 1795, with the aim of preventing "the total neglect and to diffuse the beauties of this ancient and much-acclaimed language", the '' Northern Star'', the newspaper of the
United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...
, produced tIrish-language grammar, dictionary and anthology, ''Bolg an tSolair.'' In the same year, the ''Star'' advertised classes in the language offered by Pádraig Ó Loingsigh (Patrick Lynch) at the Belfast Academy. In 1808, one the harp festival's principal organisers, the physician and polymath, James MacDonnell established the Belfast Harp Society whose declared aims were, in addition to "preserving the national music and national instrument of Ireland", the "procuring and disseminating information relative to the language, history and anitquities of Ireland". With an additional subscription from MacDonnell, and with the enthusiastic support of
Mary Ann McCracken Mary Ann McCracken (8 July 1770 – 26 July 1866) was a social activist and campaigner in Belfast, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, whose extensive correspondence is cited as an important chronicle of her times. Born to a prominent liberal Presbyter ...
(who is known to have studied from Charles Vallency's Irish grammar), and her
Gaeilgeoir This article lists notable speakers of the Irish language ( ga, Gaeilgeoir, pl. ''Gaeilgeoirí''). List * Páraic Breathnach * Seán Bán Breathnach * Kevin Cassidy * Catherine Connolly * John Creedon * Carrie Crowley * Maura Derrane ...
friend, the poetess Mary Balfour of
Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years betwee ...
, the Society organised Irish language classes. These were provided by James Cody. who used ''An Introduction to the Irish Language'' (1808) compiled by the Presbyterian minister William Neilson (Uilliam Mac Néill). From 1828/30, MacDonnell resumed this work as chairman of ''Cuideacht Gaoidhilge Uladh'' (the Ulster Gaelic Society). The society focussed on the contemporary Irish vernacular, rather than in the classical language of manuscripts, but abjured the religious evangelism that persuaded other Protestants to pursue a similar interest. With Tomás Ó Fiannachta,
Robert Shipboy MacAdam Robert Shipboy MacAdam (1808-1895) was an Irish antiquary, folklorist and linguist and was the most active figure among the Belfast Presbyterians prominent in the early Irish-language revival. He was a secretary of ''Cuideacht Gaoidhilge Uladh'' ( ...
, joint secretary of the society, published ''An introduction to the Irish language intended for the use of Irish classes in the
Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...
'' ''–'' a grammar for the school founded on progressive principles by
William Drennan William Drennan (23 May 1754 – 5 February 1820) was an Irish physician and writer who moved the formation in Belfast and Dublin of the Society of United Irishmen. He was the author of the Society's original "test" which, in the cause of ...
and other United Irish veterans. After the Ulster Gaelic Society ceased to operate in 1843, MacAdam employed the poet Aodh Mac Domhnaill (Hugh McDonnell) as a full-time scribe and collector of songs, folklore, and Irish-language manuscripts. MacAdam himself collected extensively, sometimes finding his material among Irish-speaking immigrants to Belfast.


Dublin societies

Early pioneers of more rigorous Irish scholarship were John O'Donovan (who was to become professor of Celtic Languages at Queen's College, Belfast),
Eugene O'Curry Eugene O'Curry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Comhraí or Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary. Life He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and ...
and George Petrie. O'Donovan and O'Curry found an important outlet for their work in the
Irish Archaeological Society The Irish Archaeological Society (sometimes spelled as "Irish Archæological Society") was a learned society, founded in 1840. Among the founders was the Rev. Dr. Todd, who acted as secretary. The Irish Archaeological Society was one of the fir ...
, one of the first text publication societies of Ireland, founded in 1840. In 1854 it merged with the Celtic Society, to form the Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society. From 1853, translations of Irish literary works, particularly mythological works of the Ossianic Cycle—associated with the
Fianna ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...
—were published by the
Ossianic Society The Ossianic Society was an Irish literary society founded in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day, 1853, taking its name from the poetic material associated with the ancient narrator Oisín. History Founding members included John O'Daly, William Elliot ...
, in which
Standish Hayes O'Grady Standish Hayes O'Grady ( ga, Anéislis Aodh Ó Grádaigh; 19 May 1832 – 16 October 1915) was an Irish antiquarian. He was born at Erinagh House, Castleconnell, County Limerick, the son of Admiral Hayes O'Grady. He was a cousin of the writer St ...
was active. The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language was formed in 1877 by, among others,
George Sigerson George Sigerson (11 January 1836 – 17 February 1925) was an Irish physician, scientist, writer, politician and poet. He was a leading light in the Irish Literary Revival of the late 19th century in Ireland. Doctor and scientist Sigerson was b ...
and
Thomas O'Neill Russell Thomas O'Neill Russell (1828–1908) was an Irish novelist and a founding member of Conradh na Gaeilge. Life He was born in Moate, County Westmeath, the son of Joseph Russell, a Quaker farmer. He interested himself in the Irish language from th ...
. The secretary of that society, Father John Nolan, split with it in 1880 and formed the Gaelic Union, of which the president was The O'Conor Don, and whose members included
Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...
and Michael Cusack.Tierney (1980), p. 17 Cusack's interest in Gaelic culture was not restricted to the language; he took a keen interest in the traditional games of Ireland, and in 1884, with
Maurice Davin Maurice Davin (29 June 1842 – 27 January 1927) was an Irish farmer who became co-founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was also the first President of the GAA and the only man ever to serve two terms as president. Sports Davin was ...
, he would found the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
to promote the games of
Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...
,
hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
and
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...
. In 1882 the Gaelic Union began publication of a monthly journal, the ''
Gaelic Journal The ''Gaelic Journal'' ( ga, Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge) was a periodical publication "exclusively devoted to the preservation and cultivation of the Irish Language". According to Tomas O Flannghaile it was "the first journal devoted to the living ...
''. Its first editor was David Comyn; he was followed by John Fleming, a prominent Irish scholar, and then Father
Eugene O'Growney Eugene O'Growney ( ga, Eoghan Ó Gramhnaigh; born 25 August 1863 at Ballyfallon, Athboy, County Meath, died 18 October 1899 in Los Angeles, California), was an Irish priest and scholar, and a key figure in the Gaelic revival of the late 19th cen ...
.


Gaelic League

In November 1892 Douglas Hyde gave a lecture to the
National Literary Society The National Literary Society (also known as the Irish National Literary Society) was founded in Dublin in 1892 by William Butler Yeats. The members first met in John O’Leary's rooms on Mountjoy Square, and later formally at the Rotunda. Its fi ...
entitled "The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland." He said that the Irish people had become almost completely
anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
, and that this could only be reversed through building up the language.
Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill ( ga, Eoin Mac Néill; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Cea ...
followed this up with an article in the ''Gaelic Journal'', "A Plea and a Plan for the Extension of the Movement to Preserve and Spread the Gaelic language in Ireland", and set about forming an organisation to help bring this about, together with Eugene O'Growney and J. H. Lloyd (). The
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
() was founded on 31 July 1893. Hyde was elected president, MacNeill secretary, and Lloyd treasurer, and Thomas O'Neill Russell was among those elected to the council. The Gaelic League held weekly meetings that were a combination of classes and conversation. Its focus on the vernacular form of language and modern literature distinguished it from the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language, The Celtic Society and the Gaelic Union. Within months it had branches in Cork and Galway. After four years it had 43 branches, and after ten years more than 400.Tierney (1980), p. 28 Although it was more concerned with fostering the language in the home than with teaching it in schools, it was nonetheless successful in having Irish added to the curriculum; the number of schools teaching it rose from about a dozen in the 1880s to 1,300 in 1903. The League took over the ''Gaelic Journal'' in 1894, when O'Growney retired as editor, with MacNeill replacing him. In January 1898 it began publication of a weekly newspaper, . In March of the following year, following a dispute with the owner, this was replaced by , with MacNeill again as editor. In 1901 MacNeill was replaced as editor by Eoghan Ó Neachtain, who was in turn replaced in 1903 by Patrick Pearse. The League also concerned itself with the
folk music of Ireland Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
, and was involved in the movement which led to the organisation of the Feis Ceoil (Festival of Music) by Annie Patterson in 1897. The League's relations with contemporary cultural movements were strained, and sometimes hostile, despite the fact that some of the League's leaders were on friendly terms with those movements.
Pan-Celticism Pan-Celticism ( ga, Pan-Cheilteachas, Scottish Gaelic: ''Pan-Cheilteachas'', Breton: ''Pan-Keltaidd'', Welsh: ''Pan-Geltaidd,'' Cornish: ''Pan-Keltaidd,'' Manx: ''Pan-Cheltaghys''), also known as Celticism or Celtic nationalism is a politic ...
was viewed with suspicion by many members because its leaders in Ireland, especially Lord Castletown, were closely associated with the Irish establishment. When Douglas Hyde was invited to the planned Pan-Celtic Congress of 1900—to be held in Dublin—as a delegate of the League, the (executive committee) refused to send any representative, though Hyde might attend as an individual if he wished. Hyde reluctantly declined to attend. The
Irish Literary Revival The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, nicknamed the Celtic Twilight) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes works of poetry, music, art, and literature. O ...
was denounced because its works were written in English, not Irish, and therefore tended even more towards anglicisation. Eoin MacNeill wrote, "Let them write for the 'English-speaking world' or the 'English-speaking race' if they will. But let them not vex our ears by calling their writings Irish and national."Tierney (1980), p. 66 Patrick Pearse said of the
Irish Literary Theatre W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn published a "Manifesto for Irish Literary Theatre" in 1897, in which they proclaimed their intention of establishing a national theatre for Ireland. The Irish Literary Theatre was founded by Yeats, Lady ...
, recently founded by
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
and
Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...
, that it should be "strangled at birth".


Writers

(Father Peter O'Leary), a
parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
from
Castlelyons Castlelyons () is a small village in the east of County Cork, Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Barrymore.
in County Cork, began contributing to the ''Gaelic Journal'' in 1894, and in November of that year he published the first instalment of , which was to become his best-known work. It was described by the journal as a "specimen of Munster Irish, one of the best samples, if not the very best, of southern popular Gaelic that has ever been printed." was the first major work of
modern literature in Irish Although Irish has been used as a literary language for more than 1,500 years (see Irish literature), and modern literature in Irish dates – as in most European languages – to the 16th century, modern Irish literature owes much of its popular ...
. serialised the in the '' Cork Weekly Examiner'' in 1900–1901, and followed it up with a series of modern renderings of ancient Irish tales such as , , and , all of which eschewed scholarship in favour of colloquial, entertaining Irish. After , his best-known work is his autobiography, . All his works are written in what was called (the language of the people). Patrick Pearse (), the editor of —and later a revolutionary leader in the
Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with t ...
—wrote poetry, short stories and plays. He is considered the first
modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
writer in Irish. Pearse rejected what he called the imposition of "dead linguistic and literary forms on a living language", but at the same time rejected the idea that only native speakers like could produce "Irish Irish". He produced two books of short stories, (1907) and (1916). His collection of poems, (1914) contains his most famous poem, "" ("I am Ireland"). was arguably the best writer of the period. He wrote more than 400 short stories between 1901 and his death in 1928. His stories were darker than those of his contemporaries. According to his entry in the ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'', they deal with "isolation, conflict between good and evil, the tragedy of life, hatred, blindness, despair, and madness." He wrote one novel, (Exile), described by
John T. Koch John T. Koch is an American academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory and the early Middle Ages. He is the editor of the five-volume ''Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopedia'' (2006, ABC Clio). He ...
as a "strange and brooding
psychological novel In literature, psychological fiction (also psychological realism) is a narrative genre that emphasizes interior characterization and motivation to explore the spiritual, emotional, and mental lives of the characters. The mode of narration exami ...
, the first of the genre in Irish", about a
Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
man living in London. 's works were controversial, addressing themes such as
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
and
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
, which and others within the movement found objectionable.


See also

*
Language revival Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, o ...
*
Celtic Revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...
*
Cornish revival The Cornish language revival ( kw, dasserghyans Kernowek, lit='resurrection of Cornish') is an ongoing process to revive the use of the Cornish language of Cornwall, England. The Cornish language's disappearance began to hasten during the 13th cent ...
*
Irish Literary Revival The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, nicknamed the Celtic Twilight) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes works of poetry, music, art, and literature. O ...
*
Scottish Gaelic Renaissance The Scottish Gaelic Renaissance ( gd, Ath-Bheòthachadh na Gaidhlig) is a continuing movement concerning the revival of the Scottish Gaelic language and its literature. Although the Scottish Gaelic language had been facing gradual decline in the ...


References


External links


The Revival of the Irish Language
from ''The Irish Fireside'', 1886 {{National revivals Language revival History of the Irish language Revival Celtic Revival 19th century in Ireland 20th century in Ireland 19th-century Irish literature 20th-century Irish literature