268
AN GAOḊAL.
THE NATIONAL LEAGUE.
The platform adopted by the Irish National
League at Philadelphia last Spring filled the minds
of truly Irish patriots with joyful anticipations for
the future of Ireland; but, alas, the conduct of the
leaders of that truly representative body ever since
has completely blasted those, which now appear
to have been chimerical, anticipations.
The Language, which is the essence of nation¬
ality, and which constituted a plank of that plat¬
form, has been completely ignored by every one of
those leaders in their public addresses and speech¬
es ever since. How comes this, gentlemen leaders
of the League ? Can you build a nationality with¬
out a principle ?
The effort to create Irish sentiment through
English medium is as futile as the attempt to
wash white linen in inky water, or to build a house
in a bottomless swamp. Then, to build truly Irish
sentiments, the foundation must be laid on a solid
base. That base is the language. The land can¬
not be possessed by more than a fraction of the
people of a nation. The language is the property
of all and, therefore, is the unit of nationhood.
Why do the Russians insist on substituting their
language for that used in their conquered provin¬
ces ? Why do the Germans do the same in Alsace
and Loraine? And lastly, why did the English do
it in Ireland? Because these astute politicians
know that the language i essence of nation¬
ality.
Now it seems to us that the tactics used by con¬
quering nations to obliterate a nationality should
furnish a cue to the conquered as to how to pre¬
serve it. The English sought to accomplish the
denationalization of Ireland through the instru¬
mentality of the public schools by merely elimin¬
ating from the textbooks all mention of Ireland,
and Irishmen. (See Life of Archbishop Wheatley
by his daughter.) Irishmen who distinguished
themselves in any walk of life were put down as
Britishers in these textbooks. What is the result?
It is that the Irish have, to a certain extent, been
denationalized. Where is the national bond ?
'Tis being rent, and our national leaders are abet¬
ting in its consummation.
How can the children of Irishmen, at home and
abroad, cherish Irish national sentiment when they
are being taught from infancy to despise it. Yes,
they have been incidentally so instructed by those
who grin and sneer, through their own stolid ig¬
norance and want of patriotism, at the people who
speak, teach, or take part in the movement for the
preservation of the national language. Those are
the enemies of Irish nationality, and not the Eng¬
lish. Now, we do not for a moment insinuate that
they do this intentionally, but it is the result of
such conduct. He who loves the child cannot de¬
spise the mother, and vice versa. This grinning
and sneering at everything Irish by Irishmen is
the why and the wherefore that they do not com¬
mand the active sympathy of other nations in their
efforts to regain their national independence.
From their language, custom, and manner they
are looked upon as a rebellious province of Brit¬
ain, seeking after the flesh pots — instead of a na¬
tion struggling for its ancient autonomy. How can
this condition of things be otherwise when Irish¬
men, pretending to education, ask the question,
"Was the Irish Language ever written or cultiva¬
ted?" Does not the asking of such questions im¬
ply that the interrogator believes he is descended
from a barbarous ancestry? Believing this, what
respect can be have for them? We have been ask¬
ed that question by an Irish-American barrister-at
law! Now, we do not doubt but this lawyer is a
patriotic Irishman, but see the slur his question
throws on his ancestry. We rather pity than de¬
spise the Irish patriot who is ignorant of his na¬
tional language, because he does not see the curi¬
ous predicament in which he is placed. The fact
is that the Irish nationalist ignorant of the nation's
language is groping in the dark. His intentions
are good but his method abortive. We not infre¬
quently hear patriotic Irishmen ignorant of the
language declare that they would give hundreds of
dallars to be able to speak, read and write it.
These men understand their position but they have
not the nerve to surmount the difficulty. We now
tell such men that twelve months of ordinary ap¬
plication to study would enable them to pass mus¬
ter. How many Irishmen spent years in British
dungeons for Ireland, yet they feel a dread in fac¬
ing the study of the language. There are a num¬
ber of ladies and gentlemen in New York and
Brooklyn who knew nothing of the language a few
years ago and who can now speak, read and write
it tolerably well. Mr. T. O'N Russell, a gentle¬
man of mature years, saw the false position which
he assumed by calling himself an Irish patriot
without knowing a word of the language, set to
work to place himself in the proper light before
the public. The result is that he is now one of the
best Irish writers in this country. But men will
say that they have no time to study. Why, Mr.
Russell and every other man has to earn his liv¬
ing as well as they; but where there is s will,
there is a way.
Why don't those who find themselves unequal
to the task of studying the language impress on
others, and especially the young, the patriotism
of doing so, and assist them by providing Gaelic
matter from which instruction may be obtained.
Here is where the slackness comes in. Those
Irishmen who were so unfortunete as to be shut
out from all knowledge of their language should
avenge their persecutors by spreading it in every
way in their power.
Send a dollar for the GAEL, it will teach you Irish
