The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-01-02
rom the reluctant grasp of the Eng'is.,

A new generation Of enthusiastic
students, despairing of being ever aoe
tc' right their countrys wrongs by
political agitation, turned elsewhere
for power and inspiration. The ;rould
had been cleared for the grand exodus
to antiquity and the earnest anl H.
Gated young men and women ,f Ire.
land We're prepared for the jou neJ
The spirit Of the Crusaders was ,omi-
nant in their feelings. Their n'ariees-
to expressed or understood embraced
the following resolutions: The I'm
guage and literature, the ancient ideals
and aspirations, the ancient Towering
into beauty and loveliness and pathos
and power of the old Celtic mind must
be exhumed from the debris of CEN
turies of oppression. The old lAtinlal
spirit of the true Celtic life ,lu It be
brought back and reincarnated III
new and emancipated people. I.s'and
must never degenerate into II mt. G
West Britain, nor Irish men and wo.
men into mere pitiful limitations c1
their British prosecutors. 1t is bet
tel to miss the advantages Of Home
Rule itself and with it all the COM
forts of material advancement than
to fail of our own national Develop
ment along the lines which nature and
racial distinctiveness and ln+egn'v
have clearly marked out for us.
This fervent spirit soon took shape
in the Gaelic League under the very
able and magnetic leadership OF Dr.
Douglas Hyde. This organization has
achieved wonders in a few years.
When the movement began, scarcelV
fifty thousand persons, young and Old
could be found in all Ireland W!o
could speak it with any tolera5le &C.
gree of accuracy. Today nearly halt
a. million speak Gaelic. The league
and it's work have found supporters
not only among all classes OF people
in Ireland, but in the United States,
in Canada, in the Argentine Republic
and at the other end of the worl L. in
the new confederation of Australia.
No other Of the many entei.5r seE
for the rehabilitation Of Ireland seems
; to have touched so successfully what
i. most deep and abiding in the Ce'tie
| nature. Irish language and history
and literature have been forced into the
{, national schools from which they were
formerly so vigorously excluded by
English policy. More than this; mum.
erous special schools have sprung into
existence for the study and teaching
or the Irish language. There are. be-
sides, night schools and summer
schools and stationary and itin Ian,
lecturers and organizers. The move.
ment, after fifteen years. trial has
proved popular, stable, compact, sci
entific and marvelously successful
Practically every newspaper in Ire
land has been compelled to lay in
it's font Of Irish type and to print Its
, column or page Of Gaelic in cry
ISSUE The League moreover mainta MS
it's own weekly, monthly and quart ,rly
publications.
A very effective part Of the pr
gram is the numerous Gaelic fesG.
walls and contests local, provincial and
national. In these contests men and
women of all ages and all degrees OF
culture compete for the liberal pr,@=s
offered for oratory, poetry, fcticn,
drama, ETC., all exclusively in the Irish
! language. These gala occasions bring
out vast amount of interest and en-
thusasm. Enthusiasm, however, is
far from being the main instruma :ltal-
ity for promoting and securing the
great revival. Many thoroughly COM
petent scholars and writer's are en-
gagged in the work. And there is
commendable division Of labor.
Some are de<otin1 their talents 10
editing and publishing the old manu-
scripts in beautiful Irish type and
IIluo 1CoCulH6 IilCHI lOICPSE IIOlll WtlCI
was few years ago imminent, obliv-
ion. Others are presenting the old
masterpieces in suitable English dress.
A third set are proving their scien ilic
81 asp and mastery of the old Language
by writing original lyrics, stories ana
essays in classic Gaelic. And o.l.rs
still are writing in English words but
ir. genuinely Celtic style and Spirit.
And the heart Of the people is flied
with delight on witnessing new Irish
dramas by Irish authors both in the
Irish and English languages in the
new Literary Theatre in Dublin.
1t is this linguistic and literary rev.
olution full of zeal and vitality and
genius, that, most of all, justifies us
in the use of the title, The Irish Re-
naissance, for this paper. But the full
appropriateness and significance Of tn,
title will unfold themselves more
clearly only as we consider in ,bsc-
ouent papers other nhases nf tho o.eo+