Old Drogheda
Society
Most of us are familiar with ‘Seachtain na Gaeilge’ which promotes the Irish language during the two week lead up to Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th. But did you know that the festival was established by Conradh na Gaeilge, (also known in English as the Gaelic League) far back as 1903?
The following article appeared in the Drogheda Independent on Saturday March 6th 1915 under the heading “A Word for a Small Nationality”. It details how March has traditionally been the month ... when a ‘special effort’ had been made to encourage people in supporting Irish-Ireland, from sermons in Catholic and Protestant Churches preached through Irish, to shopkeepers displaying Irish manufactured goods.
It mentions how this appeal is directed not just to Gaelic Leaguers but to “every Irish man and woman, no matter their class, creed, or condition” and includes the great quotation from Thomas Davis, best known for his work with the Young Ireland movement:
“Language is a Nation’s soul; a country without a language is only half a Nation”.
Slán go fóill!
The following article appeared in the Drogheda Independent on Saturday March 6th 1915 under the heading “A Word for a Small Nationality”. It details how March has traditionally been the month ... when a ‘special effort’ had been made to encourage people in supporting Irish-Ireland, from sermons in Catholic and Protestant Churches preached through Irish, to shopkeepers displaying Irish manufactured goods.
It mentions how this appeal is directed not just to Gaelic Leaguers but to “every Irish man and woman, no matter their class, creed, or condition” and includes the great quotation from Thomas Davis, best known for his work with the Young Ireland movement:
“Language is a Nation’s soul; a country without a language is only half a Nation”.
Slán go fóill!
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