"On Language & the Irish Nation" was the title of a radio address made by

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

, then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on Raidió Éireann on St. Patrick's Day (17 March) 1943. It is often called The Ireland that we dreamed of, a phrase which is used within it, or the "comely maidens" speech, a misquotation. The speech marked the 50th anniversary of the foundation of 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 ...

(''Conradh na Gaeilge''), a group promoting

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 ...

and 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 ...

. In the most frequently quoted passage of the speech, de Valera set out his vision of an ideal

: De Valera had made an annual radio speech on St Patrick's Day since coming to power after the 1932 election. At the time the 1943 speech was made, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

was raging and the threat of German invasion ( Operation Green) or British re-occupation (

Plan W Plan W, during World War II, was a plan of joint military operations between the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom devised between 1940 and 1942, to be executed in the event of an invasion of Ireland by Nazi Germany. Although Ire ...

) was very real. The 1943 speech in later years has been critiqued and often derided as archetypal of de Valera's traditionalist view of an isolationist, agricultural land where women held a traditional role. The phrase most commonly cited in this regard is the misquotation "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads". The speech in fact made no mention of crossroads dances, a rural tradition then dying out. Although de Valera actually said "happy maidens" in the broadcast, the phrase was "comely maidens" in the prepared text sent in advance to the newspapers, printed in the following day's ''

Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' ( Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

'', and reprinted in Maurice Moynihan's 1980 anthology. It was a double LP record of speeches from the RTÉ archives, released in 1982 on the centenary of de Valera's birth, which brought the correct wording back to public notice. In 2007, J. J. Lee and

Diarmaid Ferriter Diarmaid Ferriter (born February 1972) is an Irish historian, broadcaster and university professor. He has written eleven books on the subject of Irish history, and co-authored another. Ferriter attended St. Benildus College in Kilmacud in Dub ...

argued for a reappraisal of the speech in the light of the

Celtic Tiger The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by a subseque ...

consumption bubble and the Moriarty Tribunal revelations of corruption by 1980s Taoiseach

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

. Similarly,

David McCullagh David McCullagh (born 1 December 1967) is an Irish journalist, author and presenter with Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's national radio and television station, where he has presented the '' Six One News'', alongside Caitríona P ...

in 2018 suggests that its advocacy of "frugal comfort" was motivated by egalitarianism: "to ensure a minimum for everyone, the better off would have to accept a lower standard of living". Lee suggested de Valera's " Victorian language" gave his vision an antiquated tone that hid the continuing relevance of much of its vision.Ferriter 2007, pp.363–4 Ferriter called it "the most famous broadcast by any Irish politician of the twentieth century".

Sources

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References

External links

“The Ireland That We Dreamed Of” 1943
RTÉ archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland That We Dreamed Of, The 1943 in Ireland 1943 speeches March 1943 events Éamon de Valera RTÉ history RTÉ Radio 1 programmes Political manifestos Irish nationalism