The movement to preserve Ireland’s traditional Gaelic language was one key manifestation of the Irish cultural nationalist movement that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Following the establishment of British rule in Ireland, English became the language of power and political dominance. The Irish language was not taught in schools and, by the 19th century, the number of Irish people who could speak Irish Gaelic fluently was in steep decline. In 1893, Eoin MacNeill and Douglas Hyde founded the Gaelic League to preserve and promote the use of the Irish language. MacNeill, Hyde, and their associates believed that the preservation of the Irish language was vital for the preservation of Ireland’s distinct cultural identity. The Gaelic League aimed to revive Irish as a spoken language, make Irish the national language of Ireland, and public literature in Irish. The items displayed below reflect the Gaelic League’s attempts to preserve Ireland’s cultural identity by promoting the use of the Irish language.
Mion-Caint: An Easy Irish Phrasebook by Rev. Peter O'Leary, 1899
This phrasebook by Reverend Peter O’Leary was published by the Gaelic League. In his preface, Reverend O’Leary praises the Gaelic League, but also notes that many of the League's publications were inaccessible for beginners to the Irish language. He created this phrasebook to aid two types of beginners: Irish speakers who wanted to learn to write in Irish and individuals who could neither speak nor read Irish but wished to learn to do both. The phrasebook is an example of the Gaelic League’s attempts to promote the use of Irish as both a spoken and written language.
Full Report of the Proceedings of the Oireachtas, or, Irish Literary Festival, Held in the Round Room, Rotunda, Dublin, on May 17th, 1897
This report recounts the first Oireachtas held by the Gaelic League in Dublin in 1897. The Oireachtas was an annual literary festival where prizes were given out for readings, songs, and plays written in Irish. The Oireachtas was part of the Gaelic League’s efforts to promote the widespread use of Irish as a written language.