The Gaelic League :: Essays Papers

The Gaelic League After the famine and the institution of Home Rule on Ireland as part of the United Kingdom, the partially broken country, Ireland, became in need of nationalism in its land, along with something that would set 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 joined to form the Gaelic League. The effects of this organization change the success of Ireland as a country. The Gaelic League was not only a source 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 factor 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 content 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 speak English as their national language. 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 As sociate 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 weak 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.