Many of the new generation of Irish leaders who played a central role in the fight for Irish independence in the early twentieth century , including Patrick Pearse , Éamon de Valera ( who married his Irish teacher Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin ) , Michael Collins , and Ernest Blythe first became politicised and passionate about Irish independence through their involvement in Conradh na Gaeilge '' ( Gaelic League ) '' .
Many of the new generation of Irish leaders who played a central role in the fight for Irish independence in the early twentieth century , including Patrick Pearse , Éamon de Valera ( who married his Irish teacher Sinéad Flanagan ) , Michael Collins , and Ernest Blythe first became passionate about Irish independence through their involvement in Conradh na Gaeilge or '' ( Gaelic League ) '' .