Building Irish identity in America, 1870-1915
Subtitle: the Gaelic revival
By: Úna Ní Bhroiméil.
Publisher: Four Courts; Four Courts Press
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Dublin; Portland, OR
Language: eng
Number of pages: 156
Subjects: Irish language -- Study and teaching -- United States -- History.; Irish language -- United States -- Revival.; Irish Americans -- Language.; Irish language -- Revival.; Nationalism -- Ireland.; Ireland -- Foreign public opinion, American.
Description: Gaelicization was a deliberate attempt to reclaim the distinctive identity and civilization of the Irish people. The Irish language was at its core. At the end of the 19th century there was a flowering of Irish cultural nationalism in Ireland and in the United States. Although there was a substantial body of Irish speakers in America, language maintenance was not a priority for them. Rather, the formation of Gaelic societies and the cultivation of the Irish language became a building block of ethnic pride. This embracing of ethnicity in its most advantageous form became a tool of assimilation for the American Irish. Although the Gaelic movements in Ireland and in the United States appeared to be one, they were separate with different focuses. To the Gaelic League in Ireland, the language movement in the United States was an inspiration and a valuable financial resource. The League's missions to America were primarily fund-raising tours for the home organization. The Gaelic societies in the United States were focused primarily on the American Irish and on their need for asserting a distinctive and cultured identity in the new world. -- Publisher description
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-145) and index.
Originally presented as author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University.