True or False Douglas Hyde was involved in the setting up of the Gaelic League True

Irish Language In 1893 he chaired the foundation meeting of the Gaelic League which had been convened by Eoin MacNeill; Hyde became the first president, a position he held until The organisation was non- political and nonsectarian and aimed at involving people of different religious and political loyalties in a common cultural effort. Its objective was the revival of the Irish language and the preservation of Irish literature, music and traditional culture.

True or False The Gaelic League was accepted by the British as a legitimate organisation. They understood that Ireland wanted to represent their own language. False

How did the Irish Language become an accepted component of State policies? Pre the Free State, MacNeill’s influence with the Volunteers was hugely influential. The Gaelic League was in opposition to the the contempt of the British State. All groups who were in contempt naturally aligned themselves in some areas – language being one of them.

True or False You never needed Irish to get into the Armed Forces until False

Connection with the Free State When the Irish Free State was founded many members of the Gaelic League believed that they had taken language revival as far as they could and it was now the job of the Irish Government to take it to next level. Therefore many members ceased their League activities and a further number of those who remained were absorbed into the new political parties and into state bodies such as the Army, Police and Civil Service (test).

In the pre-Treaty era the Dáil had a ‘rational and systematic policy operating in collaboration with the League’, illustrated in the Aireacht na Gaedhilge Report to the Dáil in August 1921, when Seán Ua Ceallaigh stated: ‘It is a great advantage and a great financial saving that the Gaelic League is cooperating actively in the work which is our main concern’.

True or False Irish was never compulsory until the 1937 constitution. False

Cumann na nGaedheal Policies Made Irish compulsory as part of their language policy. Instructed Richard Mulchahy (Minister for Defence) to examine the decline of the Gaeltacht areas. The research begun under Mulcahy became known as the Gaeltacht Commission Report.

Cumann na nGaedheal Began changing place names that had sprung from the British influence for example Kingstown – Dun Laoghaire.

True or False The Gaeltacht is ‘cool’ True and False

Cumann na nGaedheal Grants were given to students who wanted to go to the Gaeltacht during their holidays. Grants were given to Gaeltacht areas.

Radio Eireann was set up in 1926 and launched by Douglas Hyde. It broadcast some programmes and announcements in Irish.

True or False The best way to learn Irish is through rote learning. False

Education CNG made Irish compulsory to primary schools from a young age. At least one hour was to be spent on Irish a day. Rote learning was a key teaching methods used even though teachers expressed their reservations. An exam was introduced at two levels. More points were awarded for those who did their through Irish.

CNG All boards of education were amalgamated under one ministry. Much of the resources committed at primary and secondary level were devoted to the revival of Irish and, as a consequence, the standard of other subjects fell.

True or False Universities were essentially ignored in terms of funding and resources during the 1920’s. True

Teacher training after 1922 was mainly focused on Irish while the universities remained under-funded with low student numbers. In W. B. Yeats’s view, ‘The old regime left Ireland, perhaps, the worst educated country in northern Europe’

True or false Schools became secularised after the Free State. False

Catholic Church Refused to allow free education and people had to pay to send their child to secondary level. Only 10% went on to secondary level. They also made sure they had control of the schools and sat on the Board of Governors.

Technical Schools Technical schools existed before Vocational schools which were set up in 1930.

True or false There was a surge in the printing of Irish textbooks and numerous publications were issued. False

Problems Not all teachers could speak Irish, only 3000 out of 12,000 could speak the language. They were sent to preparatory colleges to learn. Not many textbooks were available in order to learn the language. Spelling and a lack of modernity within the language caused issues for both teachers and students.

Did it Work? To some degree but generally it was only for a minority. The number of teachers who could teach it rose to 70% which was a success. Many students went on to study third level subjects through Irish. There were many Gaelscoils (14%).

Why it didn’t work No real use of the language in society especially in terms of jobs. Children were fed up with learning so much Irish – it had a counter effect.

True or false FF had more success with the Irish language than Cumann na nGaedheal. True but only slightly

Fianna Fail and the Irish Language A significant shift in educational policy regarding language came with the first Fianna Fáil government in Thomas Derrig, a trained teacher and language enthusiast, as Minister for Education.

FF The number of all-Irish primary schools had increased from 228 in 1931 to 704 by the end of the decade. Fianna Fail were aligned with the Gaelic League but they had many differences. The Gaelic League again felt the government wasn’t doing enough for the language

De Valera Loved the Irish Language. In a Fianna Fail Ard Fheis in 1937, he said ‘We must get the people to recognise what the restoration of the language means for our nationality.’ De Valera made Irish our ‘first language’ in the 1937 Constitution.

Government ignores the signs In 1941 the INTO (Irish National Teacher’s Organisation issued a report condemning the methods in which Irish was being taught. However this was ignored by the FF government.

Culture and painting Jack B yeats was the brother of WB Yeats and was known for his impressionist paintings. His father had been a painter before him and had worked in London. Like his brother, Jack loved Sligo and depicted images of ordinary Irish men and women working in the fields or enjoying themselves on a Sunday in Dublin.

Jack B Yeats Jack’s work appealed to the Gaelic League because it represented the real men and women of Ireland. He produced prints for Cuala Press along with his sisters.

Paul Henry Belfast painter Featured ‘real’ depictions of Northern Ireland (whitewashed cottages etc)

Evie Hone Dublin modernist painter. Crippled from the age of 11. Studied in France. Worked a lot with stained glass and religious depictions. My Four Green Fields – New York.