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{{Short description|Organization that promotes the Irish language}} {{Short description|Organisation that promotes the Irish language}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=August 2022}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
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|name = Conradh na Gaeilge |name = Conradh na Gaeilge
|image = Conradh na Gaeilge logo.png |image = Conradh na Gaeilge logo.png
|caption = Logo of Conradh na Gaeilge |caption = Logo of {{Lang|ga|Conradh na Gaeilge|italic=no}}
|size = |size =
|abbreviation = CnaG |abbreviation = CnaG
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|website = |website =
}} }}
{{lang|ga|'''Conradh na Gaeilge'''}} ({{IPA-ga|ˈkɔn̪ˠɾˠə n̪ˠə ˈɡeːlʲɟə}}; historically known in ] as the '''Gaelic League''') is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the ] in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with ] as its first president, when it emerged as the successor of several 19th century groups such as the Gaelic Union. The organisation was a spearhead of the ] and of '']'' activism. {{lang|ga|'''Conradh na Gaeilge'''}} ({{IPA-ga|ˈkɔn̪ˠɾˠə n̪ˠə ˈɡeːlʲɟə}}; historically known in English as the '''Gaelic League''') is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the ] in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with ] as its first president, when it emerged as the successor of several 19th century groups such as the Gaelic Union. The organisation was a spearhead of the ] and of '']'' activism.


While Hyde succeeded in drawing ] to the League, the organisation increasingly gave expression to the ] impulse behind the language revival. From 1915, members of its executive acknowledged the leadership of the ] in the struggle for ]. After the creation of the ], and limited advances with respect to the teaching and official use of the language, many members transferred their commitment to the new institutions, political parties and education system. While Hyde succeeded in drawing ] to the League, the organisation increasingly gave expression to the ] impulse behind the language revival. From 1915, members of its executive acknowledged the leadership of the ] in the struggle for ]. After the creation of the ], and limited advances with respect to the teaching and official use of the language, many members transferred their commitment to the new institutions, political parties and education system.


In 2008, Conradh na Gaeilge adopted a new constitution, dropping the post-1915 references to "Irish freedom", while reaffirming the ambition to restore Irish as the language of everyday life throughout Ireland. In ], it campaigned for an ]''.'' In the absence of an agreed ], in 2022 the ] incorporated many of its proposed provisions in the ]. In 2008, Conradh na Gaeilge adopted a new constitution, dropping the post-1915 references to "Irish freedom", while reaffirming the ambition to restore Irish as the language of everyday life throughout Ireland. In ], it campaigned for an ]. In the absence of an agreed ], in 2022 the ] incorporated many of its proposed provisions in the ].


== Foundation: 'De-Anglicising Ireland" == == Foundation: "De-Anglicising Ireland" ==
]'', June 1894. The English text reads "This Association has been founded solely to keep the Irish Language spoken in Ireland. If you wish the Irish Language to live on the lips of Irishmen, help this effort according to your ability!"]] ]'', June 1894. The English text reads "This Association has been founded solely to keep the Irish Language spoken in Ireland. If you wish the Irish Language to live on the lips of Irishmen, help this effort according to your ability!"]]
''Conradh na Gaeilge'', the Gaelic League, a successor to ]'s earlier Gaelic Union, was formed in 1893, at a time when ] as a spoken language appeared to be on the verge of extinction. Analysis of the 1881 Census showed that at least 45% of those born in Ireland in the first decade of the 19th century had been brought up as Irish speakers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Garret |title=Estimates for baronies on minimum level of Irish among successive decennial cohorts: 1771-1781 to 1861-1871 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy |date=1984 |issue=84c |pages=127}}</ref> Figures from the 1891 census suggested that just 3.5% were being raised speaking the language.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hindley |first1=Reg |title=The Death of the Irish Language: A Qualified Obituary |date=1990 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0415064811 |pages=15, 19}}</ref> Ireland had become an overwhelmingly English-speaking country. Spoken mainly by peasants and farm labourers in the poorer districts of the west of Ireland, Irish was widely seen, in the words of ], as "the badge of a beaten race."<ref name="Arnold">{{cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Matthew |title=The Study of Celtic Literature |date=1891 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co. |location=London |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5159/5159-h/5159-h.htm |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref> ''Conradh na Gaeilge'', the Gaelic League, a successor to ]'s earlier Gaelic Union, was formed in 1893, at a time when ] as a spoken language appeared to be on the verge of extinction. Analysis of the 1881 Census showed that at least 45% of those born in Ireland in the first decade of the 19th century had been brought up as Irish speakers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Garret |title=Estimates for baronies on minimum level of Irish among successive decennial cohorts: 1771-1781 to 1861-1871 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy |date=1984 |issue=84c |pages=127}}</ref> Figures from the 1891 census suggested that just 3.5% were being raised speaking the language.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hindley |first1=Reg |title=The Death of the Irish Language: A Qualified Obituary |date=1990 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0415064811 |pages=15, 19}}</ref> Ireland had become an overwhelmingly English-speaking country. Spoken mainly by peasants and farm labourers in the poorer districts of the west of Ireland, Irish was widely seen, in the words of ], as "the badge of a beaten race."<ref name="Arnold">{{cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Matthew |title=The Study of Celtic Literature |date=1891 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co. |location=London |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5159/5159-h/5159-h.htm |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref>
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The first aim of the League was to maintain the language in the '']'', the largely western districts in which spoken Irish survived. The late 20th-century ''Gaeilgeoir'' activist ] notes, however, that "the main ideological impact of the language movement was not in the ''Gaeltacht'', but among English-speaking nationalists". The League developed "both a conservationist and a revivalist role".<ref name="Mac Póilin">{{cite book|last1=Mac Póilin|first1=Aodán|title=Our Tangled Speech: Essays on Language and Culture|date=2018|publisher=Ulster Historical Foundation|isbn=9781909556676|location=Belfast|pages=83, 119, 134–137}}</ref> The first aim of the League was to maintain the language in the '']'', the largely western districts in which spoken Irish survived. The late 20th-century ''Gaeilgeoir'' activist ] notes, however, that "the main ideological impact of the language movement was not in the ''Gaeltacht'', but among English-speaking nationalists". The League developed "both a conservationist and a revivalist role".<ref name="Mac Póilin">{{cite book|last1=Mac Póilin|first1=Aodán|title=Our Tangled Speech: Essays on Language and Culture|date=2018|publisher=Ulster Historical Foundation|isbn=9781909556676|location=Belfast|pages=83, 119, 134–137}}</ref>


The League's first president ] (''Dúbhghlás de hÍde''), the son of a ] ] from ], helped create an ethos in the early days that attracted a number of ] into its ranks. Remarkably, these included the Rev. Richard Kane, Grand Master of the Belfast ] and organiser of the Anti-] Convention of 1892. But from the beginning there was an unresolved conflict between non-political rhetoric and the nationalism implicit in the League's revivalist project.<ref name="Mac Póilin" /> The League's first president, ] (''Dúbhghlás de hÍde''), the son of a ] ] from ], helped create an ethos in the early days that attracted a number of ] into its ranks. Remarkably, these included the Rev. Richard Kane, Grand Master of the Belfast ] and organiser of the Anti-] Convention of 1892. But from the beginning there was an unresolved conflict between non-political rhetoric and the nationalism implicit in the League's revivalist project.<ref name="Mac Póilin" />


With the aid of ] (author ''Simple Lessons in Irish'') ], ] and others, the League was launched in the wake of an address Hyde delivered to the Irish National Literary Society, on 25 November 1892:<ref>{{Cite journal|title = On the Necessity of De-Hydifying Irish Cultural Criticism|last = Stewart|first = Bruce|date = 2000|journal = New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua| volume= 4|issue=1|page = 23}}</ref> ‘"The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland’". Citing ] (the Italian nationalist who had been the inspiration for the rare language enthusiast among the ]ers, ]), Hyde argued that "in Anglicising ourselves wholesale we have thrown away with a light heart the best claim we have to nationality".<ref>Hyde, Douglas (1894), "The necessity for de-Anglicising Ireland", in C.G. Duffy (ed), ''The Revival of Irish Literature''. London: T.E.Unwin, p. 116</ref> With the aid of ] (author of ''Simple Lessons in Irish'') ], ] and others, the League was launched in the wake of an address Hyde delivered to the Irish National Literary Society, on 25 November 1892:<ref>{{Cite journal|title = On the Necessity of De-Hydifying Irish Cultural Criticism|last = Stewart|first = Bruce|date = 2000|journal = New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua| volume= 4|issue=1|page = 23}}</ref> ‘"The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland’". Citing ] (the Italian nationalist who had been the inspiration for the rare language enthusiast among the ]ers, ]), Hyde argued that "in Anglicising ourselves wholesale we have thrown away with a light heart the best claim we have to nationality".<ref>{{cite book|last=Hyde |first=Douglas |year=1894 |chapter=The necessity for de-Anglicising Ireland |editor-first=C.G. |editor-last=Duffy |title=The Revival of Irish Literature |location=London |publisher=T.E.Unwin |page=116}}</ref>


Implicitly, this was a criticism of the national movement as it had developed since ]. Although a ], ] had declared himself "sufficiently utilitarian not to regret gradual abandonment" of the language.<ref name="Ó Tuathaigh">{{cite journal |last1=Ó Tuathaigh |first1=Gearóid |year=1975 |title=Gaelic Ireland, Popular Politics and Daniel O'Connell |journal=Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society |volume=34 |pages=21–34 |jstor=25535454}}</ref> For Emancipator's keenest supporters, the "positive and unmistakable" mark of distinction between Irish and English was "the distinction created by religion".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beckett |first=J.C. |title=The Making of Modern Ireland, 1603-1923 |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=1966 |isbn=0571092675 |location=London |pages=332}}</ref> Hyde's project spoke to a new exclusionary sense of what it is to be Irish. The simple practice of referring to Gaelic as "the Irish language", consciously or not, rendered "those who did not speak it as less Irish, and those who did not even acknowledge its status as non-Irish".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Townsend |first=Charles |title=The Partition: Ireland Divided, 1885-1925 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9780141985732 |pages=47}}</ref> Implicitly, this was a criticism of the national movement as it had developed since ]. Although a ], ] had declared himself "sufficiently utilitarian not to regret gradual abandonment" of the language.<ref name="Ó Tuathaigh">{{cite journal |last1=Ó Tuathaigh |first1=Gearóid |year=1975 |title=Gaelic Ireland, Popular Politics and Daniel O'Connell |journal=Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society |volume=34 |pages=21–34 |jstor=25535454}}</ref> For Emancipator's keenest supporters, the "positive and unmistakable" mark of distinction between Irish and English was "the distinction created by religion".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beckett |first=J.C. |title=The Making of Modern Ireland, 1603-1923 |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=1966 |isbn=0571092675 |location=London |pages=332}}</ref> Hyde's project spoke to a new exclusionary sense of what it is to be Irish. The simple practice of referring to Gaelic as "the Irish language", consciously or not, rendered "those who did not speak it as less Irish, and those who did not even acknowledge its status as non-Irish".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Townsend |first=Charles |title=The Partition: Ireland Divided, 1885-1925 |publisher=Penguin |year=2021 |isbn=9780141985732 |pages=47}}</ref>


The League rapidly developed leading institution promoting the ], organising Irish classes and student immersions in the ], and publishing in Irish. The League's first newspaper was '']'' (The Sword of Light) and its most noted editor was ]. The motto of the League was ''Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin'' (Ourselves, Ourselves alone).<ref>{{Cite book | last = Murphy | first = Brian P. | title = The Catholic Bulletin and Republican Ireland: with special reference to J. J. O'Kelly ('Sceilg') | publisher = Athol Books | year = 2005 | location = London | pages = 51–53 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0ESaAAAACAAJ&q=The+Catholic+Bulletin+and+Republican+Ireland| isbn = 0-85034-108-6}}</ref> The League rapidly developed into the leading institution promoting the ], organising Irish classes and student immersions in the ], and publishing in Irish. The League's first newspaper was '']'' (The Sword of Light) and its most noted editor was ]. The motto of the League was ''Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin'' (Ourselves, Ourselves alone).<ref>{{Cite book | last = Murphy | first = Brian P. | title = The Catholic Bulletin and Republican Ireland: with special reference to J. J. O'Kelly ('Sceilg') | publisher = Athol Books | year = 2005 | location = London | pages = 51–53 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0ESaAAAACAAJ&q=The+Catholic+Bulletin+and+Republican+Ireland| isbn = 0-85034-108-6}}</ref>


== Early campaigns == == Early campaigns ==
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== The national cause == == The national cause ==
], ], Dublin]]
Hyde declared that "The Irish language, thank God, is neither Protestant nor Catholic, it is neither a ] nor a ]."<ref name="Tanner2">{{cite book|last=Tanner|first=Marcus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AXyq-Umw9DgC&q=stamp+out+any+lingering%2C+semi-pagan+remnants&pg=PA82|title=The Last of the Celts|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|isbn=0-300-10464-2}}</ref> Although the League took this non-political principle seriously enough to decline participation in the unveiling of a ] centenary monument to ], much like the ] the organisation served as an occasion and cover for nationalist recruitment. ] recalls that, as early 1903, as a travelling manager for ''An Claidheamh Soluis,'' he was in a position to recruit young men for ] (IRB) in every one of 32 counties.<ref name="Mac Póilin" /> It was through the League that many future leaders of the independence struggle first met, laying the foundation for groups such as the ] (1913). Hyde declared that "The Irish language, thank God, is neither Protestant nor Catholic, it is neither a ] nor a ]."<ref name="Tanner2">{{cite book|last=Tanner|first=Marcus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AXyq-Umw9DgC&q=stamp+out+any+lingering%2C+semi-pagan+remnants&pg=PA82|title=The Last of the Celts|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|isbn=0-300-10464-2}}</ref> Although the League took this non-political principle seriously enough to decline participation in the unveiling of a ] centenary monument to ], much like the ] the organisation served as an occasion and cover for nationalist recruitment. ] recalls that, as early 1903, as a travelling manager for ''An Claidheamh Soluis,'' he was in a position to recruit young men for ] (IRB) in every one of 32 counties.<ref name="Mac Póilin" /> It was through the League that many future leaders of the independence struggle first met, laying the foundation for groups such as the ] (1913).


"While being non-political", ] saw the League, by "its very nature", as "intensely national". Under a system of foreign rule that made the people "forget to look to themselves, and to turn their backs upon their own country", it did "more than any other movement to restore national pride, honour and self-respect".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Michael|title=The Path to Freedom: Articles and Speeches by Michael Collins|publisher=Mercier Press|year=1985|isbn=1856351262|location=Dublin|pages=120, 123}}</ref> ] had been similarly dismissive of the League's political neutrality of the League. Popular support for the revival of the language, he argued, sprang precisely from its role as a mark of Irish nationality.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Maume|first=Patrick|date=1999|title=Young Ireland, Arthur Griffith, and Republican Ideology: the Question of Continuity|journal=Éire-Ireland|volume=XXXIV:2|issue=2 |pages=(155-174) 170|doi=10.1353/eir.1999.0008 |s2cid=149094348 }}</ref> "While being non-political", ] saw the League, by "its very nature", as "intensely national". Under a system of foreign rule that made the people "forget to look to themselves, and to turn their backs upon their own country", it did "more than any other movement to restore national pride, honour and self-respect".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Michael|title=The Path to Freedom: Articles and Speeches by Michael Collins|publisher=Mercier Press|year=1985|isbn=1856351262|location=Dublin|pages=120, 123}}</ref> ] had been similarly dismissive of the League's political neutrality of the League. Popular support for the revival of the language, he argued, sprang precisely from its role as a mark of Irish nationality.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Maume|first=Patrick|date=1999|title=Young Ireland, Arthur Griffith, and Republican Ideology: the Question of Continuity|journal=Éire-Ireland|volume=XXXIV:2|issue=2 |pages=(155–174) 170|doi=10.1353/eir.1999.0008 |s2cid=149094348 }}</ref>


As the nationalist impulse behind the League became more obvious, and in particular as the League began to work more closely with the Catholic Church to secure support for teaching Irish in the schools, Unionists withdrew. Hyde's effort to leave space for unionists was lost. They were themselves moving toward a distinct Ulster unionism which rejected any form of Irish cultural identity.<ref name="Mac Póilin" /> As the nationalist impulse behind the League became more obvious, and in particular as the League began to work more closely with the Catholic Church to secure support for teaching Irish in the schools, Unionists withdrew. Hyde's effort to leave space for unionists was lost. They were themselves moving toward a distinct Ulster unionism which rejected any form of Irish cultural identity.<ref name="Mac Póilin" />
Increasingly Republicans were blunt about what they saw as the League's place within the nationalist movement. The paper, ''Irish Freedom'', declared:<ref name="O hUallachain">{{cite book |last1=O hUallachain |first1=Colman |title=The Irish and Irish: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Relationship between the People and their Language |date=1994 |publisher=Irish Provincial Franciscan Office |location=Dublin |pages=57, 62}}</ref><blockquote>The work of the Gaelic League is to prevent the assimilation of the Irish nation by the English nation The work is as essentially anti-English as the work attempted by ]ism or the ] The Irish language is a political weapon of the first importance against English encroachment.</blockquote>The issue of the League's political independence was decided at its Annual General Meeting held in ] in 1915. Rumours circulated that ] ] were seeking to take over the League as they had earlier attempted to take over the Irish Volunteers. ] of the IRB mobilised Brotherhood members positioned throughout the League to secure the nominations and votes required to appoint a new ''Coiste'' (executive) that "was safe from the IRB viewpoint".<ref name="O hUallachain" /> Increasingly Republicans were blunt about what they saw as the League's place within the nationalist movement. The paper, ''Irish Freedom'', declared:<ref name="O hUallachain">{{cite book |last1=O hUallachain |first1=Colman |title=The Irish and Irish: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Relationship between the People and their Language |date=1994 |publisher=Irish Provincial Franciscan Office |location=Dublin |pages=57, 62}}</ref><blockquote>The work of the Gaelic League is to prevent the assimilation of the Irish nation by the English nation The work is as essentially anti-English as the work attempted by ]ism or the ] The Irish language is a political weapon of the first importance against English encroachment.</blockquote>The issue of the League's political independence was decided at its Annual General Meeting held in ] in 1915. Rumours circulated that ] ] were seeking to take over the League as they had earlier attempted to take over the Irish Volunteers. ] of the IRB mobilised Brotherhood members positioned throughout the League to secure the nominations and votes required to appoint a new ''Coiste'' (executive) that "was safe from the IRB viewpoint".<ref name="O hUallachain" />


== Northern Protestants == == Northern Protestants ==
The first Ulster branch of the Gaelic League was formed in east ] in 1895, a year after the death of ] who, with ], had presided over a precursor of the League earlier in the century: ''Cuideacht Gaoidhilge Uladh / T''he Ulster Gaelic Society (1828-1843).<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Blaney |first=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qf2LuAEACAAJ |title=Presbyterians and the Irish Language |date=1996 |publisher=Ulster Historical Foundation |isbn=978-0-901905-72-7 |language=en}}</ref> The new Belfast branch was formed under the active patronage (until he left to become Church of Ireland Lord ]) of the Rev. ] and the presidency of his parishioner, Dr. ], both unionists,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Gaelic Revival Movement in East Belfast – Great War Gaeilgeoirí of East Belfast|url=https://www.greatwargaeilgeoiri.org.uk/history/gaelic-revival-movement-in-east-belfast/|access-date=2021-03-14|language=en-GB}}</ref> and of the ] Grand Master, the Rev. Richard Tutledge Kane.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Geoghegan |first=Patrick |date=2009 |title=Kane, Richard Rutledge {{!}} Dictionary of Irish Biography |url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/kane-richard-rutledge-a4379 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=www.dib.ie |language=en}}</ref> For other Protestant pioneers of the ] the League was a non-sectarian door into the nationalist community with whom their political sympathies lay. The first Ulster branch of the Gaelic League was formed in east ] in 1895, a year after the death of ] who, with ], had presided over a precursor of the League earlier in the century: ''Cuideacht Gaoidhilge Uladh / T''he Ulster Gaelic Society (1828–1843).<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Blaney |first=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qf2LuAEACAAJ |title=Presbyterians and the Irish Language |date=1996 |publisher=Ulster Historical Foundation |isbn=978-0-901905-72-7 |language=en}}</ref> The new Belfast branch was formed under the active patronage (until he left to become Church of Ireland Lord ]) of the Rev. ] and the presidency of his parishioner, Dr. ], both unionists,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Gaelic Revival Movement in East Belfast – Great War Gaeilgeoirí of East Belfast|url=https://www.greatwargaeilgeoiri.org.uk/history/gaelic-revival-movement-in-east-belfast/|access-date=2021-03-14|language=en-GB}}</ref> and of the ] Grand Master, the Rev. ]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Geoghegan |first=Patrick |date=2009 |title=Kane, Richard Rutledge {{!}} Dictionary of Irish Biography |url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/kane-richard-rutledge-a4379 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=www.dib.ie |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Ó Snodaigh |first=Pádraig |title=Hidden Ulster, Protestants and the Irish Language |publisher=Ultach Trust, Lagan Press |year=1995 |isbn=1873687354 |location=Belfast}}</ref>{{rp|86–87}} Claiming to afford a "common platform to Catholic and Protestant", by 1899 the League had nine branches in the city including one in the unionist ] where, in the 1911 census, 106 people recorded themselves as Irish speakers.<ref name=":4" />{{rp|91}}


This was the case for ], publisher in ] of ''].'' Milligan's command of Irish was never fluent, and on that basis ] was to object when, in 1904, the Gaelic League hired her as a travelling lecturer. She proved herself by establishing new branches throughout Ireland and raising funds along the way. In the north, in ], she focused on the more difficult task of recruiting Protestants, working with, among other activists, ], Ada McNeill, ], ], ], and Seamus McManus.<ref name="Morris">{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Catherine|title=Alice Milligan and the Irish Cultural Revival|date=2013|publisher=Four Courts Press|isbn=978-1-846-82422-7|location=Dublin}}</ref> For other Protestant pioneers of the ] the League was a non-sectarian door into the nationalist community with whom their political sympathies lay. This was the case for ], publisher in ] of ''].'' Milligan's command of Irish was never fluent, and on that basis ] was to object when, in 1904, the Gaelic League hired her as a travelling lecturer. She proved herself by establishing new branches throughout Ireland and raising funds along the way. In the north, in ], she focused on the more difficult task of recruiting Protestants, working with, among other activists, ], Ada McNeill, ], ], ], and Seamus McManus.<ref name="Morris">{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Catherine|title=Alice Milligan and the Irish Cultural Revival|date=2013|publisher=Four Courts Press|isbn=978-1-846-82422-7|location=Dublin}}</ref>


James Owen Hannay (better known as the novelist ]), originally of ], was co-opted onto the League's national executive body in December 1904 while a Church of Ireland (Anglican) rector in Westport in ]. Hyde and ] sympathised with Hannay's desire for a "union of the two Irish democracies", Catholic in the south and Protestant in the north. In the north Hannay saw a potential ally in ] and his ]. Like the ''Conradh na Gaeilge'', he saw the IOO as "profoundly democratic in spirit" and independent of "the rich and the patronage of the great".<ref>J.O. Hannay to Lindsay Crawford, 29 May 1905, Lindsay Crawford Papers, National Library of Ireland, Ms.11,415</ref><ref name="Murray2">{{cite journal|last1=Murray|first1=Peter|date=February 2002|title=Lindsay Crawford's 'Impossible Demand'? The Southern Irish Dimension of the Independent Orange Project|url=http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/1198/1/WPS05.pdf|journal=National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis, National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Working Paper Series|access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref> James Owen Hannay (better known as the novelist ]), originally of ], was co-opted onto the League's national executive body in December 1904 while a Church of Ireland (Anglican) rector in Westport in ]. Hyde and ] sympathised with Hannay's desire for a "union of the two Irish democracies", Catholic in the south and Protestant in the north. In the north Hannay saw a potential ally in ] and his ]. Like the ''Conradh na Gaeilge'', he saw the IOO as "profoundly democratic in spirit" and independent of "the rich and the patronage of the great".<ref>J.O. Hannay to Lindsay Crawford, 29 May 1905, Lindsay Crawford Papers, National Library of Ireland, Ms.11,415</ref><ref name="Murray2">{{cite journal|last1=Murray|first1=Peter|date=February 2002|title=Lindsay Crawford's 'Impossible Demand'? The Southern Irish Dimension of the Independent Orange Project|url=http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/1198/1/WPS05.pdf|journal=National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis, National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Working Paper Series|access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref>
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Offence taken at his successful play ''],'' and his defence of Crawford's opposition to church control of education, strained Hannay's relations with nationalists and he withdrew from League. Meanwhile, in North America, Crawford (who had found no political home in Ireland) went on to campaign with ] for recognition and support for the ].<ref name="Boyle 2">{{cite journal|last1=Boyle|first1=J. W.|date=1971|title=A Fenian Protestant in Canada: Robert Lindsay Crawford 1910-1922|journal=Canadian Historical Review|volume=LVII|issue=2|pages=165–176|doi=10.3138/CHR-052-02-03|s2cid=162210866}}</ref> Offence taken at his successful play ''],'' and his defence of Crawford's opposition to church control of education, strained Hannay's relations with nationalists and he withdrew from League. Meanwhile, in North America, Crawford (who had found no political home in Ireland) went on to campaign with ] for recognition and support for the ].<ref name="Boyle 2">{{cite journal|last1=Boyle|first1=J. W.|date=1971|title=A Fenian Protestant in Canada: Robert Lindsay Crawford 1910-1922|journal=Canadian Historical Review|volume=LVII|issue=2|pages=165–176|doi=10.3138/CHR-052-02-03|s2cid=162210866}}</ref>


], who joined the ] in 1909 with the distinction of maintaining for three years his membership of the ],<ref name="neillt">Neill, T. (1979) Ernest Blythe: The Man from Magheragall. Lisburn Historical Society, 2 (4)</ref> had as his first ''Conradh na Gaeilge'' teacher ], de Valera's future wife. To improve his knowledge of the Irish language, he lived in the ] ] earning his keep as an agricultural labourer.<ref name="boy2">{{cite book|last=Boylan|first=Henry|title=A Dictionary of Irish Biography, 3rd Edition|publisher=Gill and MacMillan|year=1998|isbn=978-0-7171-2945-4|location=Dublin|page=29}}</ref> A similar path was followed by IRB organiser of the Irish Volunteers, ]. ], who joined the ] in 1909 with the distinction of maintaining for three years his membership of the ],<ref name="neillt">Neill, T. (1979) Ernest Blythe: The Man from Magheragall. Lisburn Historical Society, 2 (4)</ref> had as his first ''Conradh na Gaeilge'' teacher ], de Valera's future wife. To improve his knowledge of the Irish language, he lived in the ] ] earning his keep as an agricultural labourer.<ref name="boy2">{{cite book|last=Boylan|first=Henry|title=A Dictionary of Irish Biography, 3rd Edition|publisher=Gill and MacMillan|year=1998|isbn=978-0-7171-2945-4|location=Dublin|page=29}}</ref> A similar path was followed by IRB organiser of the Irish Volunteers, ].


== Participation of women == == Participation of women ==
Alice Milligan was exceptional among the League's leading activists as a northern Protestant, but less so as a woman. All the priorities of the larger Irish-Ireland movement which developed around the revival of the language, including teaching children a national history and literature, and the use and consumption of Irish-made products, were associated with the sphere of home and community in which women were accorded initiative. In comparison to the political parties (whether republican or constitutionalist), organisations, like the League, promoting a cultural agenda were comparatively open and receptive to women.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Biletz|first=Frank A.|date=2002|title=Women and Irish-Ireland: The Domestic Nationalism of Mary Butler|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20646366|journal=New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua|volume=6|issue=1|pages=59–72, 59–60|jstor=20646366 |issn=1092-3977}}</ref> Alice Milligan was exceptional among the League's leading activists as a northern Protestant, but less so as a woman. All the priorities of the larger Irish-Ireland movement which developed around the revival of the language, including teaching children a national history and literature, and the use and consumption of Irish-made products, were associated with the sphere of home and community in which women were accorded initiative. In comparison to the political parties (whether republican or constitutionalist), organisations, like the League, promoting a cultural agenda were comparatively open and receptive to women.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Biletz|first=Frank A.|date=2002|title=Women and Irish-Ireland: The Domestic Nationalism of Mary Butler|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20646366|journal=New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua|volume=6|issue=1|pages=59–72, 59–60|jstor=20646366 |issn=1092-3977}}</ref>


The League encouraged female participation from the start and women filled prominent roles. Local notables, such as ] in Galway, Lady Esmonde in County Wexford, and ] in County Limerick, and others such as ] and ], founded and led branches. In positions of trust, however, women did remain a decided minority. At the annual national convention in 1906 women were elected to seven of the forty-five positions on the Gaelic League executive.<ref name=":2" /> Executive members included ], ] (who wrote pamphlets on behalf of the League), Bean an Doc Uí Choisdealbha, Máire Ní hAodáin, ], Nellie O'Brien, Eibhlín Ní Dhonnabháin, and ].<ref>New Hibernia Review. 6:1 Spring 2002. pp 57–62</ref><ref>Irish Peasant, 18 August 1906</ref> The League encouraged female participation from the start and women filled prominent roles. Local notables, such as ] in Galway, Lady Esmonde in County Wexford, and ] in County Limerick, and others such as ] and ], founded and led branches. In positions of trust, however, women remained a decided minority. At the annual national convention in 1906 women were elected to seven of the forty-five positions on the Gaelic League executive.<ref name=":2" /> Executive members included ], ] (Agnes O'Farrelly, who wrote pamphlets on behalf of the League), Bean an Doc Uí Choisdealbha, Máire Ní hAodáin, ], Nellie O'Brien, Eibhlín Ní Dhonnabháin, and ].<ref>New Hibernia Review. 6:1 Spring 2002. pp 57–62</ref><ref>Irish Peasant, 18 August 1906</ref>


Máire de Builtéir (] who is credited with suggesting to ] the term ]<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Snodaigh|first1=Aengus|title=Sinn Féin and Sinn Féin|url=http://republican-news.org/archive/1999/September30/30hist.html|accessdate=19 January 2016|website=An Phoblacht/Republican News}}</ref> made it clear that women could make their contribution to the cultural revival without relinquishing their traditional roles. "Let it be thoroughly understood", she insisted, "that when Irish women are invited to take part in the language movement, they are not required to plunge into the vortex of public life. No the work they can best do is work to be done in the home. There mission is to make the homes of Ireland Irish".<ref>quoted in Biletz (2002), p. 68</ref> Máire de Builtéir, who is credited with suggesting the term ] to ],<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Snodaigh|first1=Aengus|title=Sinn Féin and Sinn Féin|url=http://republican-news.org/archive/1999/September30/30hist.html|accessdate=19 January 2016|website=An Phoblacht/Republican News}}</ref> made it clear that women could make their contribution to the cultural revival without relinquishing their traditional roles. "Let it be thoroughly understood", she insisted, "that when Irish women are invited to take part in the language movement, they are not required to plunge into the vortex of public life. No the work they can best do is work to be done in the home. There mission is to make the homes of Ireland Irish".<ref>quoted in Biletz (2002), p. 68</ref>


== Criticism == == Criticism ==
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== In the Irish Free State == == In the Irish Free State ==
] commemorating the ]]]
With the foundation of the ] many members believed that the Gaelic League had taken language revival as far as it could and that the task now fell to the new Irish Government. They ceased their League activities and were absorbed into the new political parties and into state bodies such as the Army, Police, Civil Service, and into the school system in which Irish was made compulsory.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=The Gaelic League in the Irish Free State in the 1920s and 1930s – The Irish Story|url=https://www.theirishstory.com/2012/08/02/the-gaelic-league-in-the-irish-free-state-in-the-1920s-and-1930s/#.YESRaJP7TVo|access-date=2021-03-07|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=28 November 2015|title=The Gaelic League in the Irish Free State in the 1920s and 1930s|publisher=The Irish Story|url=http://www.theirishstory.com/2012/08/02/the-gaelic-league-in-the-irish-free-state-in-the-1920s-and-1930s/}}</ref> With the organisation paying a less prominent role in public life, It fared badly in the ]. All its endorsed candidates, including Hyde, were rejected.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Ireland's Unique Electoral Experiment: The Senate Election of 1925 |doi=10.1080/07907180500359327 |first=John |last=Coakley |journal=Irish Political Studies |date = September 2005|volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=231–269 |s2cid=145175747 }}</ref> With the foundation of the ] many members believed that the Gaelic League had taken language revival as far as it could and that the task now fell to the new Irish Government. They ceased their League activities and were absorbed into the new political parties and into state bodies such as the Army, Police, Civil Service, and into the school system in which Irish was made compulsory.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=The Gaelic League in the Irish Free State in the 1920s and 1930s – The Irish Story|url=https://www.theirishstory.com/2012/08/02/the-gaelic-league-in-the-irish-free-state-in-the-1920s-and-1930s/#.YESRaJP7TVo|access-date=2021-03-07|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=28 November 2015|title=The Gaelic League in the Irish Free State in the 1920s and 1930s|publisher=The Irish Story|url=http://www.theirishstory.com/2012/08/02/the-gaelic-league-in-the-irish-free-state-in-the-1920s-and-1930s/}}</ref> With the organisation paying a less prominent role in public life, It fared badly in the ]. All its endorsed candidates, including Hyde, were rejected.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Ireland's Unique Electoral Experiment: The Senate Election of 1925 |doi=10.1080/07907180500359327 |first=John |last=Coakley |journal=Irish Political Studies |date = September 2005|volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=231–269 |s2cid=145175747 }}</ref>


From 1926 there was growing disquiet among League members over the government's failure to implement the recommendations of its own Gaeltacht Commission. Despite being presided over by Blythe, one of their own, the Ministry of Finance baulked at the proposal for free secondary school education for Gaeltacht children (something that was not available anywhere in Ireland until the 1960s). The League was also alarmed by the Anglicising and cosmopolitan influences of state radio (great objection was made to its programming of Jazz). The failure of the Cumann na nGaedheal government to commit to a more comprehensive programme for defending and promoting Irish and what was perceived, typically in conservative folk terms, as its supporting culture, helped rally support for de Valera's anti-Treaty republican party ].<ref name=":1" /> Partly in recognition of his services in the League services, under ], Hyde served as the first ] from June 1938 to June 1945. From 1926 there was growing disquiet among League members over the government's failure to implement the recommendations of its own Gaeltacht Commission. Despite being presided over by Blythe, one of their own, the Ministry of Finance baulked at the proposal for free secondary school education for Gaeltacht children (something that was not available anywhere in Ireland until the 1960s). The League was also alarmed by the Anglicising and cosmopolitan influences of state radio (great objection was made to its programming of Jazz). The failure of the Cumann na nGaedheal government to commit to a more comprehensive programme for defending and promoting Irish and what was perceived, typically in conservative folk terms, as its supporting culture, helped rally support for de Valera's anti-Treaty republican party ].<ref name=":1" /> Partly in recognition of his services in the League services, under ], Hyde served as the first ] from June 1938 to June 1945.


In 1927, ] (CLRG) was founded as a subcommittee of the League to investigate the promotion of traditional Irish dance. Eventually, CLRG became a largely independent organisation, though it is required by its constitution to share 3 board members with the League.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cullinane|first1=John|title=An Coimisiún Le Rince Gaelacha: its origins and evolution|date=2003|publisher=Dr John P Cullinane|location=Dublin|isbn=0952795248}}</ref> In 1927, ] (CLRG) was founded as a subcommittee of the League to investigate the promotion of traditional Irish dance. Eventually, CLRG became a largely independent organisation, though it is required by its constitution to share three board members with the League.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cullinane|first1=John|title=An Coimisiún Le Rince Gaelacha: its origins and evolution|date=2003|publisher=Dr John P Cullinane|location=Dublin|isbn=0952795248}}</ref>


== Contemporary campaigns for language rights == == Contemporary campaigns for language rights ==
Conradh na Gaeilge, in alliance with other groups such as ], was instrumental in the community campaigns which led to the creation of ] (1972), ] (1980), and ] (1996). The organisation successfully campaigned for the enactment of the Official Languages Act, 2003 which gave greater statutory protection to Irish speakers and created the position of '']'' (The Languages Commissioner). Conradh na Gaeilge was among the principal organisations responsible for co-ordinating the successful campaign to make Irish an ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322183055/http://www.gaeilge.ie/foras/news/article.asp?id=136 |date=22 March 2007 }} (Irish language) ''Foras na Gaeilge'' press release, 13 June 2005.</ref> Conradh na Gaeilge, in alliance with other groups such as ], was instrumental in the community campaigns which led to the creation of ] (1972), ] (1980), and ] (1996). The organisation successfully campaigned for the enactment of the Official Languages Act, 2003 which gave greater statutory protection to Irish speakers and created the position of {{lang|ga|]}} (the Languages Commissioner). Conradh na Gaeilge was among the principal organisations responsible for co-ordinating the successful campaign to make Irish an ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322183055/http://www.gaeilge.ie/foras/news/article.asp?id=136 |date=22 March 2007 }} (Irish language) ''Foras na Gaeilge'' press release, 13 June 2005.</ref>


] ]


In 2008 during the presidency of Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh, Conradh na Gaeilge adopted a new constitution reverting to its pre 1915 non-political stance restating its aim as that of an Irish-speaking Ireland "''Is í aidhm na hEagraíochta an Ghaeilge a athréimniú mar ghnáththeanga na hÉireann''" ("It is the aim of the Organization to reinstate the Irish language as the everyday language of Ireland") and dropping any reference to Irish freedom. In 2008 during the presidency of Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh, Conradh na Gaeilge adopted a new constitution reverting to its pre 1915 non-political stance restating its aim as that of an Irish-speaking Ireland {{lang|ga|"Is í aidhm na hEagraíochta an Ghaeilge a athréimniú mar ghnáththeanga na hÉireann"}} ("It is the aim of the Organisation to reinstate the Irish language as the everyday language of Ireland") and dropping any reference to Irish freedom.


In recent years Conradh na Gaeilge has remained central to campaigns to protect language rights throughout Ireland. This strategy encompasses the promotion of increased investment in Gaeltacht areas,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnag.ie/ga/nuacht/r%C3%A1itis-nuachta/729-plean-infheist%C3%ADochta-le-1,160-post-a-chruth%C3%BA-deiseanna-%C3%BAs%C3%A1idte-gaeilge-don-phobal-%C3%A1-nochtadh-inniu.html|title=Plean Infheistíochta Le 1,160+ Post A Chruthú & Deiseanna Úsáidte Gaeilge don Phobal Á Nochtadh Inniu - Conradh na Gaeilge {{!}} Ar son phobal na Gaeilge|website=cnag.ie|language=ga-ie|access-date=2017-09-30}}</ref> advocacy for increased provision of state services through Irish,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnag.ie/en/news/585-irish-language-rights-on-the-elections%E2%80%99-agenda.html|title=Irish-Language Rights On The Elections' Agenda - Conradh na Gaeilge {{!}} Ar son phobal na Gaeilge|website=cnag.ie|access-date=2017-09-30}}</ref> the development of Irish language hubs in urban areas, and the Acht Anois campaign for the enactment of an ] to protect the language in ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnag.ie/en/get-involved/current-campaigns/irish-language-act.html|title=Irish-Language Act - Conradh na Gaeilge {{!}} Ar son phobal na Gaeilge|website=cnag.ie|access-date=2017-09-30}}</ref> In recent years Conradh na Gaeilge has remained central to campaigns to protect language rights throughout Ireland. This strategy encompasses the promotion of increased investment in Gaeltacht areas,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnag.ie/ga/nuacht/r%C3%A1itis-nuachta/729-plean-infheist%C3%ADochta-le-1,160-post-a-chruth%C3%BA-deiseanna-%C3%BAs%C3%A1idte-gaeilge-don-phobal-%C3%A1-nochtadh-inniu.html|title=Plean Infheistíochta Le 1,160+ Post A Chruthú & Deiseanna Úsáidte Gaeilge don Phobal Á Nochtadh Inniu|website=Conradh na Gaeilge|language=ga-ie|access-date=2017-09-30}}</ref> advocacy for increased provision of state services through Irish,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnag.ie/en/news/585-irish-language-rights-on-the-elections%E2%80%99-agenda.html|title=Irish-Language Rights On The Elections' Agenda |website=Conradh na Gaeilge|access-date=2017-09-30}}</ref> the development of Irish language hubs in urban areas, and the Acht Anois campaign for the enactment of an ] to protect the language in ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnag.ie/en/get-involved/current-campaigns/irish-language-act.html|title=Irish-Language Act|website=Conradh na Gaeilge|access-date=2017-09-30}}</ref>


The decision of the ] to resist a stand-alone ], in part by insisting on compensating provisions for ], became one of the principal, publicly acknowledged, sticking points in the three years of on and off again negotiations required to restore the ] in 2020.<ref name="independent">{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Ben |date=30 April 2019 |title=Why is there no government in Northern Ireland? |language=en |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/northern-ireland-talks-latest-power-sharing-deal-stormont-sinn-fein-dup-a8893096.html |url-status=live |accessdate=23 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112193941/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/northern-ireland-talks-latest-power-sharing-deal-stormont-sinn-fein-dup-a8893096.html |archive-date=12 November 2019}}</ref> The 2020 ''New Decade New Approach'' agreement promised both the Irish language and Ulster-Scots new Commissioners to "support" and "enhance" their development but does not accord them equal legal status.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 2020 |title=New Decade, New Approach |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/856998/2020-01-08_a_new_decade__a_new_approach.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110214927/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/856998/2020-01-08_a_new_decade__a_new_approach.pdf |archive-date=10 January 2020 |access-date=25 April 2020 |website=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |pages=15–16}}</ref> While Ulster Scots was to be recognised as a regional or minority language for the "encouragement" and "facilitation" purposes of Part II of the ], provision for Irish was to meet the more stringent Part III obligations in respect of education, media and administration.<ref>''New Decade, New Approach'', 2020. p. 49</ref> The decision of the ] to resist a stand-alone ], in part by insisting on compensating provisions for ], became one of the principal, publicly acknowledged, sticking points in the three years of on and off again negotiations required to restore the ] in 2020.<ref name="independent">{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Ben |date=30 April 2019 |title=Why is there no government in Northern Ireland? |language=en |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/northern-ireland-talks-latest-power-sharing-deal-stormont-sinn-fein-dup-a8893096.html |url-status=live |accessdate=23 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112193941/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/northern-ireland-talks-latest-power-sharing-deal-stormont-sinn-fein-dup-a8893096.html |archive-date=12 November 2019}}</ref> The 2020 ] agreement promised both the Irish language and Ulster-Scots new Commissioners to "support" and "enhance" their development but does not accord them equal legal status.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 2020 |title=New Decade, New Approach |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/856998/2020-01-08_a_new_decade__a_new_approach.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110214927/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/856998/2020-01-08_a_new_decade__a_new_approach.pdf |archive-date=10 January 2020 |access-date=25 April 2020 |website=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |pages=15–16}}</ref> While Ulster Scots was to be recognised as a regional or minority language for the "encouragement" and "facilitation" purposes of Part II of the ], provision for Irish was to meet the more stringent Part III obligations in respect of education, media and administration.<ref>''New Decade, New Approach'', 2020. p. 49</ref>


In 2022, with unionist protest against the ] having resulted in a further suspension of devolved government, the ] incorporated the language provisions of ''New Decade New Approach'' in the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ainsworth |first=Paul |date=2022-12-06 |title='Historic milestone' passed as Irish language legislation becomes law |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/2022/12/06/news/_historic_milestone_passed_as_irish_language_legislation_becomes_law-2932333/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=The Irish News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 December 2022 |title=Language and identity laws could spell significant change |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-63923308 |via=www.bbc.com}}</ref> The president of the Conradh na Gaeilge, Paula Melvin,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paula Melvin elected new President of Conradh na Gaeilge, bringing to close the 5 year term of Dr Niall Comer. Conradh na Gaeilge warmly welcomes first female President of the organisation since 1994-5. - Conradh na Gaeilge {{!}} Ar son phobal na Gaeilge |url=https://cnag.ie/en/news/1535-paula-melvin-elected-new-president-of-conradh-na-gaeilge,-bringing-to-close-the-5-year-term-of-dr-niall-comer-conradh-na-gaeilge-warmly-welcomes-first-female-president-of-the-organisation-since-1994-5.html |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=cnag.ie}}</ref> hailed the passing of the legislation, but said the bill was "not our final destination". The organisation would turn its attention to both implementing and to strengthening the legislation: "painful experience with the British government has taught us to take nothing for granted".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ainsworth |first=Paul |date=2022-12-06 |title='Historic milestone' passed as Irish language legislation becomes law |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/2022/12/06/news/_historic_milestone_passed_as_irish_language_legislation_becomes_law-2932333/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=The Irish News |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, with unionist protest against the ] having resulted in a further suspension of devolved government, the ] incorporated the language provisions of ''New Decade, New Approach'' in the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ainsworth |first=Paul |date=2022-12-06 |title='Historic milestone' passed as Irish language legislation becomes law |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/2022/12/06/news/_historic_milestone_passed_as_irish_language_legislation_becomes_law-2932333/ |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=The Irish News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 December 2022 |title=Language and identity laws could spell significant change |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-63923308 |via=www.bbc.com}}</ref> The president of the Conradh na Gaeilge, Paula Melvin,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paula Melvin elected new President of Conradh na Gaeilge, bringing to close the 5 year term of Dr Niall Comer. Conradh na Gaeilge warmly welcomes first female President of the organisation since 1994-5. - Conradh na Gaeilge {{!}} Ar son phobal na Gaeilge |url=https://cnag.ie/en/news/1535-paula-melvin-elected-new-president-of-conradh-na-gaeilge,-bringing-to-close-the-5-year-term-of-dr-niall-comer-conradh-na-gaeilge-warmly-welcomes-first-female-president-of-the-organisation-since-1994-5.html |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=cnag.ie}}</ref> hailed the passing of the legislation, but said the bill was "not our final destination". The organisation would turn its attention to both implementing and to strengthening the legislation: "painful experience with the British government has taught us to take nothing for granted".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ainsworth |first=Paul |date=2022-12-06 |title='Historic milestone' passed as Irish language legislation becomes law |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/2022/12/06/news/_historic_milestone_passed_as_irish_language_legislation_becomes_law-2932333/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=The Irish News |language=en}}</ref>


==Branches== ==Branches==
Conradh na Gaeilge has a number of branches across Ireland and internationally which organise locally, and are governed by committee.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Branches - Conradh na Gaeilge {{!}} Ar son phobal na Gaeilge|url=https://cnag.ie/en/membership/branches/how-to-register-re-register-a-branch.html|access-date=2021-01-20|website=cnag.ie}}</ref> Conradh na Gaeilge has a number of branches across Ireland and internationally which organise locally, and are governed by committee.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Branches |url=https://cnag.ie/en/membership/branches/how-to-register-re-register-a-branch.html|access-date=2021-01-20|website=Conradh na Gaeilge}}</ref>


=== ] (''including County Louth'') === === ] (''including County Louth'') ===
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* 1989–1994, ] * 1989–1994, ]
* 1994–1995, Áine de Baróid * 1994–1995, Áine de Baróid
* 1995-1998, Gearóid Ó Cairealláin * 1995-1998, ]
* 1998–2003, Tomás Mac Ruairí * 1998–2003, Tomás Mac Ruairí
* 2003–2004, Séagh Mac Siúrdáin * 2003–2004, Séagh Mac Siúrdáin
Line 185: Line 187:
* 2008–2011, ] * 2008–2011, ]
* 2011–2014, Donnchadh Ó hAodha * 2011–2014, Donnchadh Ó hAodha
* 2014–2017, Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaelport.com/?treeID=37&NewsItemID=10985|title=Ã Cearbhaill elected as President of Conradh na Gaeilge|work=gaelport.com}}</ref> * 2014–2017, Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaelport.com/?treeID=37&NewsItemID=10985|title=Ã Cearbhaill elected as President of Conradh na Gaeilge|work=gaelport.com|access-date=23 April 2015|archive-date=26 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526193744/http://www.gaelport.com/?treeID=37&NewsItemID=10985|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2017–2022, Niall Comer * 2017–2022, Niall Comer
* 2022–present, Paula Melvin * 2022–present, Paula Melvin
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==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Gaelic League}} {{Commons category-inline|Conradh na Gaeilge / Gaelic League}}
* {{Official website|https://www.cnag.ie/en/}} * {{Official website|https://www.cnag.ie/en/}}



Latest revision as of 05:27, 23 December 2024

Organisation that promotes the Irish language

Conradh na Gaeilge
Logo of Conradh na Gaeilge
AbbreviationCnaG
Formation31 July 1893; 131 years ago (1893-07-31)
FounderDouglas Hyde
TypeNon-governmental organisation
Headquarters6 Harcourt Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
FieldsIrish language promotion
Gaelic revival
Secretary GeneralJulian de Spáinn
PresidentPaula Melvin
SubsidiariesRaidió Rí-Rá
Websitecnag.ie
Formerly calledGaelic League

Conradh na Gaeilge (Irish pronunciation: [ˈkɔn̪ˠɾˠə n̪ˠə ˈɡeːlʲɟə]; 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 emerged as the successor of several 19th century groups such as the Gaelic Union. The organisation was a spearhead of the Gaelic revival and of Gaeilgeoir activism.

While Hyde succeeded in drawing unionists to the League, the organisation increasingly gave expression to the nationalist impulse behind the language revival. From 1915, members of its executive acknowledged the leadership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the struggle for Irish statehood. After the creation of the Irish Free State, and limited advances with respect to the teaching and official use of the language, many members transferred their commitment to the new institutions, political parties and education system.

In 2008, Conradh na Gaeilge adopted a new constitution, dropping the post-1915 references to "Irish freedom", while reaffirming the ambition to restore Irish as the language of everyday life throughout Ireland. In Northern Ireland, it campaigned for an Irish Language Act. In the absence of an agreed Stormont executive, in 2022 the Westminster Parliament incorporated many of its proposed provisions in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act.

Foundation: "De-Anglicising Ireland"

Advertisement for the Gaelic League in the Gaelic Journal, June 1894. The English text reads "This Association has been founded solely to keep the Irish Language spoken in Ireland. If you wish the Irish Language to live on the lips of Irishmen, help this effort according to your ability!"

Conradh na Gaeilge, the Gaelic League, a successor to Ulick Bourke's earlier Gaelic Union, was formed in 1893, at a time when Irish as a spoken language appeared to be on the verge of extinction. Analysis of the 1881 Census showed that at least 45% of those born in Ireland in the first decade of the 19th century had been brought up as Irish speakers. Figures from the 1891 census suggested that just 3.5% were being raised speaking the language. Ireland had become an overwhelmingly English-speaking country. Spoken mainly by peasants and farm labourers in the poorer districts of the west of Ireland, Irish was widely seen, in the words of Matthew Arnold, as "the badge of a beaten race."

The first aim of the League was to maintain the language in the Gaeltacht, the largely western districts in which spoken Irish survived. The late 20th-century Gaeilgeoir activist Aodán Mac Póilin notes, however, that "the main ideological impact of the language movement was not in the Gaeltacht, but among English-speaking nationalists". The League developed "both a conservationist and a revivalist role".

The League's first president, Douglas Hyde (Dúbhghlás de hÍde), the son of a Church of Ireland rector from County Roscommon, helped create an ethos in the early days that attracted a number of unionists into its ranks. Remarkably, these included the Rev. Richard Kane, Grand Master of the Belfast Orange Lodge and organiser of the Anti-Home Rule Convention of 1892. But from the beginning there was an unresolved conflict between non-political rhetoric and the nationalism implicit in the League's revivalist project.

With the aid of Eugene O'Growney (author of Simple Lessons in Irish) Eoin MacNeill, Thomas O'Neill Russell and others, the League was launched in the wake of an address Hyde delivered to the Irish National Literary Society, on 25 November 1892: ‘"The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland’". Citing Giuseppe Mazzini (the Italian nationalist who had been the inspiration for the rare language enthusiast among the Young Irelanders, Thomas Davis), Hyde argued that "in Anglicising ourselves wholesale we have thrown away with a light heart the best claim we have to nationality".

Implicitly, this was a criticism of the national movement as it had developed since Catholic emancipation. Although a gaeilgeoir, Daniel O'Connell had declared himself "sufficiently utilitarian not to regret gradual abandonment" of the language. For Emancipator's keenest supporters, the "positive and unmistakable" mark of distinction between Irish and English was "the distinction created by religion". Hyde's project spoke to a new exclusionary sense of what it is to be Irish. The simple practice of referring to Gaelic as "the Irish language", consciously or not, rendered "those who did not speak it as less Irish, and those who did not even acknowledge its status as non-Irish".

The League rapidly developed into the leading institution promoting the Gaelic Revival, organising Irish classes and student immersions in the Gaeltacht, and publishing in Irish. The League's first newspaper was An Claidheamh Soluis (The Sword of Light) and its most noted editor was Pádraig Pearse. The motto of the League was Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin (Ourselves, Ourselves alone).

Early campaigns

Among the League's few campaign successes in its first decade was acceptance by the Post Office of parcels and letters addressed in Irish, and the recognition of St. Patrick's Day as a national holiday.

With national feeling heightened in part by the Boer War, membership increased from 1900. The number of branches rose from 43 in 1897 to 600 in 1904 with a membership of 50,000. A more substantial victory followed: in 1904 Irish was introduced into the national school curriculum.

The Catholic church, however, was not an early ally. The clergy had played a significant role in the decline of the language. In the National schools they had punished children for speaking it (a legacy, in part, of the Irish-language missionary activity of the Protestant churches).

The national cause

Conradh na Gaeilge clubhouse on the grounds of Grattan Crescent Park, Inchicore, Dublin

Hyde declared that "The Irish language, thank God, is neither Protestant nor Catholic, it is neither a Unionist nor a Separatist." Although the League took this non-political principle seriously enough to decline participation in the unveiling of a 1798 centenary monument to Wolfe Tone, much like the Gaelic Athletic Association the organisation served as an occasion and cover for nationalist recruitment. Seán T. O'Kelly recalls that, as early 1903, as a travelling manager for An Claidheamh Soluis, he was in a position to recruit young men for Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in every one of 32 counties. It was through the League that many future leaders of the independence struggle first met, laying the foundation for groups such as the Irish Volunteers (1913).

"While being non-political", Michael Collins saw the League, by "its very nature", as "intensely national". Under a system of foreign rule that made the people "forget to look to themselves, and to turn their backs upon their own country", it did "more than any other movement to restore national pride, honour and self-respect". Arthur Griffith had been similarly dismissive of the League's political neutrality of the League. Popular support for the revival of the language, he argued, sprang precisely from its role as a mark of Irish nationality.

As the nationalist impulse behind the League became more obvious, and in particular as the League began to work more closely with the Catholic Church to secure support for teaching Irish in the schools, Unionists withdrew. Hyde's effort to leave space for unionists was lost. They were themselves moving toward a distinct Ulster unionism which rejected any form of Irish cultural identity.

Increasingly Republicans were blunt about what they saw as the League's place within the nationalist movement. The paper, Irish Freedom, declared:

The work of the Gaelic League is to prevent the assimilation of the Irish nation by the English nation The work is as essentially anti-English as the work attempted by Fenianism or the Society of United Irishmen The Irish language is a political weapon of the first importance against English encroachment.

The issue of the League's political independence was decided at its Annual General Meeting held in Dundalk in 1915. Rumours circulated that John Redmond's Irish Parliamentary Party were seeking to take over the League as they had earlier attempted to take over the Irish Volunteers. Diarmuid Lynch of the IRB mobilised Brotherhood members positioned throughout the League to secure the nominations and votes required to appoint a new Coiste (executive) that "was safe from the IRB viewpoint".

Northern Protestants

The first Ulster branch of the Gaelic League was formed in east Belfast in 1895, a year after the death of Robert Shipboy MacAdam who, with Dr. James MacDonnell, had presided over a precursor of the League earlier in the century: Cuideacht Gaoidhilge Uladh / The Ulster Gaelic Society (1828–1843). The new Belfast branch was formed under the active patronage (until he left to become Church of Ireland Lord Bishop of Ossory) of the Rev. John Baptiste Crozier and the presidency of his parishioner, Dr. John St Clair Boyd, both unionists, and of the Orange Order Grand Master, the Rev. Richard Rutledge Kane. Claiming to afford a "common platform to Catholic and Protestant", by 1899 the League had nine branches in the city including one in the unionist Shankill ward where, in the 1911 census, 106 people recorded themselves as Irish speakers.

For other Protestant pioneers of the Irish language in the north the League was a non-sectarian door into the nationalist community with whom their political sympathies lay. This was the case for Alice Milligan, publisher in Belfast of The Shan Van Vocht. Milligan's command of Irish was never fluent, and on that basis Patrick Pearse was to object when, in 1904, the Gaelic League hired her as a travelling lecturer. She proved herself by establishing new branches throughout Ireland and raising funds along the way. In the north, in Ulster, she focused on the more difficult task of recruiting Protestants, working with, among other activists, Hyde, Ada McNeill, Roger Casement, Alice Stopford Green, Stephen Gwynn, and Seamus McManus.

James Owen Hannay (better known as the novelist George A. Birmingham), originally of Belfast, was co-opted onto the League's national executive body in December 1904 while a Church of Ireland (Anglican) rector in Westport in County Mayo. Hyde and Arthur Griffith sympathised with Hannay's desire for a "union of the two Irish democracies", Catholic in the south and Protestant in the north. In the north Hannay saw a potential ally in Lindsay Crawford and his Independent Orange Order. Like the Conradh na Gaeilge, he saw the IOO as "profoundly democratic in spirit" and independent of "the rich and the patronage of the great".

Crawford, who stood for election to the League's executive committee, was critical of what he regarded as the League's impractical romanticism. In his paper, Irish Protestant, he suggested that the Irish Ireland movement needed an injection of "Ulsteria", an "industrial awakening on true economic lines: it is wrong when people crave bread to offer them 'language and culture'".

Offence taken at his successful play General John Regan, and his defence of Crawford's opposition to church control of education, strained Hannay's relations with nationalists and he withdrew from League. Meanwhile, in North America, Crawford (who had found no political home in Ireland) went on to campaign with Eamon de Valera for recognition and support for the republic proclaimed in 1916.

Ernest Blythe, who joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1909 with the distinction of maintaining for three years his membership of the Orange Order, had as his first Conradh na Gaeilge teacher Sinéad Flanagan, de Valera's future wife. To improve his knowledge of the Irish language, he lived in the County Kerry Gaeltacht earning his keep as an agricultural labourer. A similar path was followed by IRB organiser of the Irish Volunteers, Bulmer Hobson.

Participation of women

Alice Milligan was exceptional among the League's leading activists as a northern Protestant, but less so as a woman. All the priorities of the larger Irish-Ireland movement which developed around the revival of the language, including teaching children a national history and literature, and the use and consumption of Irish-made products, were associated with the sphere of home and community in which women were accorded initiative. In comparison to the political parties (whether republican or constitutionalist), organisations, like the League, promoting a cultural agenda were comparatively open and receptive to women.

The League encouraged female participation from the start and women filled prominent roles. Local notables, such as Lady Gregory in Galway, Lady Esmonde in County Wexford, and Mary Spring Rice in County Limerick, and others such as Máire Ní Shúilleabháin and Norma Borthwick, founded and led branches. In positions of trust, however, women remained a decided minority. At the annual national convention in 1906 women were elected to seven of the forty-five positions on the Gaelic League executive. Executive members included Máire Ní Chinnéide, Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh (Agnes O'Farrelly, who wrote pamphlets on behalf of the League), Bean an Doc Uí Choisdealbha, Máire Ní hAodáin, Máire de Builtéir, Nellie O'Brien, Eibhlín Ní Dhonnabháin, and Eibhlín Nic Niocaill.

Máire de Builtéir, who is credited with suggesting the term Sinn Féin to Arthur Griffith, made it clear that women could make their contribution to the cultural revival without relinquishing their traditional roles. "Let it be thoroughly understood", she insisted, "that when Irish women are invited to take part in the language movement, they are not required to plunge into the vortex of public life. No the work they can best do is work to be done in the home. There mission is to make the homes of Ireland Irish".

Criticism

Formed in the wake of the disgrace and fall of the nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and defeat of the second Home Rule Bill, the League drew upon a generation frustrated and disillusioned with electoral politics. But proponents of new and rival movements were sceptical of the cultural activism offered by the League.

Writing in Alice Milligan's Belfast monthly, labour and socialist leader James Connolly maintained that in the absence of a creed capable of challenging the rule of the capitalist, landlord and financier, the nationalism of the Irish language movement would achieve little. His friend and collaborator Frederick Ryan, secretary of the Irish National Theatre Society, acknowledged the "pathos" in that in "young men and women rushing to acquire the rudiments of Irish (and it seldom gets beyond that) in order to show that they are not as other nations", but suggested that it did not "correlate with the active desire for political freedom". Most leaders of the Gaelic League desired "a return to medievalism in thought, in literature, in pastimes, in music and even in dress", but a nation, he argued, is not morally raised by dwelling on its past. Rather it must deal with its present political, economic, and social problems, something of which Ireland is capable without assuming "the enormous burden of adopting what is now virtually a new language".

Patrick Pearse, who had joined the League while in his teens, responded in An Claidheamh Soluis by defending a "critical traditionalism". The cultural self-belief promoted by the League does not call for "folk attitudes of mind" or "folk conventions of form". Irish artists might have to "imbibe their Irishness from the peasant, since the peasants alone possess Irishism, but they need not and must not be afraid of modern culture". Deriving "what is best in medieval Irish literature", the new Irish prose would be characterised by a "terseness", "crispness", and "plain straightforwardness" entirely conducive to the demands of the modern nation-state and economy.

In the Irish Free State

1943 stamp Douglas Hyde commemorating the Gaelic League

With the foundation of the Irish Free State many members believed that the Gaelic League had taken language revival as far as it could and that the task now fell to the new Irish Government. They ceased their League activities and were absorbed into the new political parties and into state bodies such as the Army, Police, Civil Service, and into the school system in which Irish was made compulsory. With the organisation paying a less prominent role in public life, It fared badly in the 1925 Seanad election. All its endorsed candidates, including Hyde, were rejected.

From 1926 there was growing disquiet among League members over the government's failure to implement the recommendations of its own Gaeltacht Commission. Despite being presided over by Blythe, one of their own, the Ministry of Finance baulked at the proposal for free secondary school education for Gaeltacht children (something that was not available anywhere in Ireland until the 1960s). The League was also alarmed by the Anglicising and cosmopolitan influences of state radio (great objection was made to its programming of Jazz). The failure of the Cumann na nGaedheal government to commit to a more comprehensive programme for defending and promoting Irish and what was perceived, typically in conservative folk terms, as its supporting culture, helped rally support for de Valera's anti-Treaty republican party Fianna Fail. Partly in recognition of his services in the League services, under de Valera's new constitution, Hyde served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945.

In 1927, An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) was founded as a subcommittee of the League to investigate the promotion of traditional Irish dance. Eventually, CLRG became a largely independent organisation, though it is required by its constitution to share three board members with the League.

Contemporary campaigns for language rights

Conradh na Gaeilge, in alliance with other groups such as Gluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta, was instrumental in the community campaigns which led to the creation of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (1972), Údarás na Gaeltachta (1980), and TG4 (1996). The organisation successfully campaigned for the enactment of the Official Languages Act, 2003 which gave greater statutory protection to Irish speakers and created the position of An Coimisinéir Teanga (the Languages Commissioner). Conradh na Gaeilge was among the principal organisations responsible for co-ordinating the successful campaign to make Irish an official language of the European Union.

Conradh na Gaeilge, Dublin

In 2008 during the presidency of Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh, Conradh na Gaeilge adopted a new constitution reverting to its pre 1915 non-political stance restating its aim as that of an Irish-speaking Ireland "Is í aidhm na hEagraíochta an Ghaeilge a athréimniú mar ghnáththeanga na hÉireann" ("It is the aim of the Organisation to reinstate the Irish language as the everyday language of Ireland") and dropping any reference to Irish freedom.

In recent years Conradh na Gaeilge has remained central to campaigns to protect language rights throughout Ireland. This strategy encompasses the promotion of increased investment in Gaeltacht areas, advocacy for increased provision of state services through Irish, the development of Irish language hubs in urban areas, and the Acht Anois campaign for the enactment of an Irish Language Act to protect the language in Northern Ireland.

The decision of the Democratic Unionist Party to resist a stand-alone Irish Language Act, in part by insisting on compensating provisions for Ulster Scots, became one of the principal, publicly acknowledged, sticking points in the three years of on and off again negotiations required to restore the power-sharing executive in 2020. The 2020 New Decade, New Approach agreement promised both the Irish language and Ulster-Scots new Commissioners to "support" and "enhance" their development but does not accord them equal legal status. While Ulster Scots was to be recognised as a regional or minority language for the "encouragement" and "facilitation" purposes of Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, provision for Irish was to meet the more stringent Part III obligations in respect of education, media and administration.

In 2022, with unionist protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol having resulted in a further suspension of devolved government, the United Kingdom Parliament incorporated the language provisions of New Decade, New Approach in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act. The president of the Conradh na Gaeilge, Paula Melvin, hailed the passing of the legislation, but said the bill was "not our final destination". The organisation would turn its attention to both implementing and to strengthening the legislation: "painful experience with the British government has taught us to take nothing for granted".

Branches

Conradh na Gaeilge has a number of branches across Ireland and internationally which organise locally, and are governed by committee.

Ulster (including County Louth)

Leinster (excluding County Louth)

Munster

Connacht

Britain

Presidents

See also

References

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  35. quoted in Biletz (2002), p. 68
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  53. "Paula Melvin elected new President of Conradh na Gaeilge, bringing to close the 5 year term of Dr Niall Comer. Conradh na Gaeilge warmly welcomes first female President of the organisation since 1994-5. - Conradh na Gaeilge | Ar son phobal na Gaeilge". cnag.ie. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
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Bibliography

  • Mac Aonghusa, Proinsias (1993). Ar son na Gaeilge: Conradh na Gaeilge 1893-1993. Conradh na Gaeilge. ASIN B001A49CUY.
  • Mac Fhearghusa, Pádraig (1995). Conradh na Gaeilge i gCiarrai. Conradh na Gaeilge. ASIN B0010DRN88.
  • Mac Giolla Domhnaigh, Gearóid (1995). Conradh Gaeilge Chúige Uladh ag tús an 20ú chéid. Comhaltas Uladh de Chonradh na Gaeilge. ISBN 0951726412.
  • O'Riordain, Traolach (2000). Conradh na Gaeilge i gCorcaigh 1894-1910. Cois Life Teoranta. ISBN 1901176177.
  • Ó Súilleabháin, Donncha (1989). Conradh na Gaeilge i Londain 1894-1917. Conradh na Gaeilge. ASIN B009QZETH0.

External links

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