The Gaelic League :: Essays Papers

The Celtic conference After the famine and the ecesis of Home Rule on Ireland as part of the coupled Kingdom, the partially broken country, Ireland, became in need of nationalism in its land, along with something that would clan the Irish apart from England. Answering the call for leadership in a country with a desperate need for it, Douglas Hyde and Eoin MacNeill stepped up. In 1893, the two united to form the Celtic League. The effects of this organization change the success of Ireland as a country. The Celtic League was not only a character reference of nationalism and unity for the country, the league also gave Ireland a sense of uniqueness from its dominating and overbearing neighbor, England. The League eventually helped the country gain its independence. The Gaelic League did, however, experience great difficulties throughout its existence and became a cypher in the eventual civil war in Ireland. The Gaelic League was designed by Douglas Hyde and Eoin MacNeill in order to separate Ireland from England. Similar to today, when countries do not want to loose their customs and traditions to the American customs and traditions, Ireland was striving to maintain its sense of individuality. Ireland, from the perspective of other nations, was just part of the United Kingdom and considered under the control of England (MacDonagh 68). Hyde and MacNeill, along with many others, were not suffice with the partial freedom Ireland received from the Home Rule Act. The act gave Ireland a chance to hold its own parliament, but would keep English institutions and communicate English as their national expression. In order to keep the Gaelic language alive, Gaelic speaking and singing contests were held to promote the learning of the language (Brown 94). These contests were associated with the Gaelic Athletic Association which was a precursor to the Gaelic League. The Gaelic Athletic Associate created teams from Ireland which would compete against each other, creating another source of income, although very minimal, for some peasants and another part of the economy for a financially rachitic country. These speaking competitions eventually lead to the creation of the Gaelic League. The goal of The Gaelic League was to maintain the Irish language by teaching it in schools.