Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-16

maze tnat even the students themselves
have been amazed at the wealth of ma
terial revealed.
While the Gaelic League is working
valiantly to increase interest in the pres
ervation of this language, it must not be
assumed that 1t ever has been a dead
language or even in danger of becoming
one. There are thousands of persons in
different parts of the world who are
to them from their forefathers
Owing to the dominance of the English,
many families preserve 1t in their homes
who have affected ignorance of it in
public, although there always have been
large number who. from patriotic mo-
tives, absolutely refused to speak Eng
lish. The league already has been able
to create so much sentiment in favor of
the revival Of the language that many
express purpose of conversing in the
language they spoke as children, and
their expressions are being preserved for
the use Of future generations.
As a result of the efforts of the league
during the past fifteen years Gaelic is
now t a u g h t in
Teaching General about one-third of
Tee ~. Y.,., the public or
common schools
Of Ireland. in practically all of the schools
conducted by the different religious or
ders and in thousands Of Gaelic League
classes scattered throughout the island.
1t has been made an essential subject for
examination for entrance into the new
National University of Dublin and the
league conducts ten colleges for the train
ing Of teachers in the Gaelic tongue.
The churches. both Catholic and Prot
estant have caught the enthusiasm for
reviving the Gaelic and sermons in that
language are frequent in all of the
churches. st. Patrick's day, 1912, twenty
one churches In Dublin held services in
Gaelic. Language enthusiasts refuse to
speak any other language when shop
ping, thus compelling the stores to en-
ploy Goel1c-speakng clerks. The street
signs in Dublin and in other Irish cities
are now given in both Gaelic and English
and cabmen and draymen put Gaelic signs
upon their vehicles.
The interest is not confined to speaking
the language, for most of the Irish pa
pers publish some columns of Gaelic in
their regular editions while others print
occasional issues in the ancient text. In
addition to these, there are a number of
Gaelic periodicals. while each month an
increasing number of Gaelic books are
printed and distributed throughout the
world.
Several Gaelic publications are issued in
the United States as we'll as in several
other countries. In order to familiarize
themselves with the Gaelic text and con-
struction q number of Gaelic students
are devoting their time not only to trans
lating the Gaelic into English. but in
translating other works into Gaelic. One
of the most notable works Of this kind
published In the United States is the
translation of Edward Fftzgerald's ver-
into Gaelic. This is the recent work Of
John J. Carroll Of Chicago, who is an en-
thusiastic Gaelic student.
DR.. Dunn of the Catholic University
has prepared a monograph on the Gaelic
literature CIV
Monograph Upon ing synopsis
Literature Prepared and subjects
Beginning before the middle ages. Irish
literature was Of the epic style prepared
by q class of dignitaries supported by
the court for this purpose. Their caste
was determined by the number of stories
they could tell. ranging from the file, y
who knew only seven. to the "ollamh,"
who could relate $50. The neurological
period follows. in which were originated
the wonderful fairy tales in which Ire
land is SO rich. Lyric poetry, history
and a considerable amount of astronom-
ical and other scientific knowledge is in
cluded in this Gaelic literature. which is
gradually becoming known to the world
The strongest Gaelic colony in the west
ern hemisphere is in Nova Scotia. where
the language is spoken by $4,000 people,
many Of whom do not speak any Eng
lish, but have preserved their native
tongue in all its purity. Several newspa-
pers printed in Gaelic keep this colony in
touch with what transpires in the world.
This colony was founded more than
century ago by Scottish Highlanders.
There are two colleges in Nova Scotia
attended largely by Gaelic-speaking stu
DENTS in which the language is taught.
One of these is Presbyterian and the
other Catholic. At a meeting of the
Washington Gaelic Society recently ad-
dresses in the Gaelic language were made
by DR.. Donald Macleod, pastor of a
prominent Presbyterian church Of this
city, and by Rev. Daniel j. Macdonald,
a Catholic clergyman. Both of these gen.
tlemen are native Gaelic speakers. who
learned the language during their child
hood in their Nova Scotia homes, and
both are enthusiastically working to In
crease its use. because, although of de-
creasing unitarian value, Gaelic has yet
been associated with much of the most
interesting history of the world.