Revival of the Irish Culture Essay -- Essays Papers

Revival of the Irish Culture People of Irish decent share a pride in their national heritage perhaps unlike any other culture today. Many Irish homes are decorated with clovers, flags, and other Gaelic symbols even today. This enthusiasm for Irish culture has not always been around. In fact, this source of pride can be traced back to one cultural revival movement in Ireland during the 1800’s. During this time, the people of Ireland formed the Gaelic League to unify their country, and to give themselves a national identity of where they came from. Due to the persecution of the Catholic Church, the Great Potato Famine, and many forms of persecution from the British, Ireland needed a way to remember their rich cultural history. Many factors go into making a country transform into a nation. Eoin MacNeill, the first president of the Gaelic League, believed in this full heartedly. He believed that it took much more then simply political sovereignty to unify a country into a nation (Hachey and Hernon Jr. and McCaffrey 140). MacNeill knew that in order for Ireland to unify, they were going to need to have a rich cultural history. His solution to this lack of culture was the Gaelic League. MacNeill urged the people of Ireland to be proud of not only their language, but their art, literature, sports, and dance. Almost immediately the people of Ireland took to this new sense of cultural nationalism. The Irish began to believe that their language was not merely a way to communicate, but a way of cultural values and a way of life (Hachey and Hernon Jr. and McCaffrey 140). People from the urban middle class, who previously knew nothing of the Gaelic history, began joining the league in massive amounts of numbe rs. Soon, many... ...nal heritage. Although many argue that no other Irish cultural movements succeeded during this time period, the Gaelic League perhaps did enough for all of them. Today Irish are proud of who they were, and what they have become. Works Cited Castle, Gregory. Modernism and the Celtic Revival. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. Hachey, Thamas E., Joseph M. Hernon Jr., and Lawrence J. McCaffrey. The Irish Experience. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1989. Hepburn, A.C.. â€Å"Language, Religion and National Identity in Ireland since 1880.† Perspectives on European Politics & Society 02.2 (2001) Academic Search Premier Miller, David W. â€Å"Irish Catholicism and the Great Famine.† Journal of Social History 09.1 (Fall 1975) Academic Search Premier.