AN GAOḊAL.
499
and got no Journal. The causes are
lack of funds, and, therefore, no one
willing to assume responsibility; also
Fathar Nolan has been away from
Dublin for over a year, but is back a¬
gain. The Gaelic movement ought to
be supported, even at the cost of per¬
sonal disappointments for it has giv¬
en ideas birth far-reaching in their con¬
sequences. Perhaps many of our read¬
ers are not aware of the fact that the
National League owes its birth to the
Irish Language movement. It does.
The keel of the Land League was laid
by the Brooklyn Philo-Celtic Society,
and the superstructure, which has now
grown to be the most powerful politic¬
al battering ram ever constructed, e¬
rected through its agitation in the I¬
rish World. And it will yet succeed
in having the language of the GÆL
taught, studied and spoken in every
school-house in FREE IRELAND!
Phila. Pa.
Mr. M. J. Logan;
Sir — The recent issue of the "Gael"
just to hand, discloses a sad and a most lamentable
state of things. That the promoters of the Dub¬
lin Gaelic Journal entertain some doubts of their
ability to continue that Journal any farther than
the 24th number: that yourself has been obliged to
defer the publication of Prof. Rœhrig's Essay till
some future occasion, in order to secure the con¬
tinuance of some of the old subscribers. This un¬
doubtedly is a very regretable circumstance, and
clearly demonstrates the utter unworthiness of I¬
rishmen ever attaining that climax of national
perfection which they so incessantly have sought
for years — the blessing of domestic autonomy,
You, with others, have time again through the
columns of the patriotic Gael, inculcated the ne¬
cessity for the Irish people in general to obtain a
knowledge of their native tongue. You have clear¬
ly shown that, when a nation loses its language, its
claim to national individuality is also lost; that
an English-speaking Ireland to the eyes of foreign¬
ers is essentially an integral portion of the British
empire, and that consequently, it has no claim on
their sympathy or commiseration. These uncon¬
trovertible facts were so ably and forcibly promul¬
gated that a recapitulation of them is unnecessary
here. So that, when those were not sufficient to
stimulate the latent enthusiasm of the Irish race
in favor of their native language. I fear further
remonstrances will prove of little avail. Oh, sure¬
ly it is a national disgrace to us, not adequately
supporting one monthly periodical in the beauti¬
ful old Irish Tongue, so charactistically replete
with every linguistic perfection, while the despic¬
able "Jack-Chinaman" amply supports one in his
own national tongue.
In Dublin as well as here a number of men of
high intellectual culture and erudition, are dis¬
interestedly engaged in the arduous and indefati¬
gable task of resuscitating the language from what
seems to be an inevitable death while we ignore
their efforts with apathy and indifference. It is an
established fact that neither the Gael of Brooklyn
nor the Dublin Journal was ever set on foot for
commercial purposes or pecuniary consideration
but was the effect of a spontaneous desire to set up a
nucleus of Gaelic Literature whose ramifications
might extend to every portion of the habitable
globe where an Irish habitation or a colony is es¬
tablished. These were the motives which actuat¬
ed those gentlemen, as well as others still using
their efforts in its revival. Consequently the Irish
people ought to come to the rescue of those indivi¬
duals — particularly those whose social position ad¬
vantageously unables them to do so and liberally
aid them in their almost fruitless efforts.
Now. sir, that the civil year is quickly approach¬
ing its end, and that I am afraid we shall get very
little practical assistance from outsiders, I would
humbly suggest that each of the present subscrib¬
ers would remit you the small sum of one dollar
at their earliest convenience, at least before Christ¬
mas, so that by the commencement of '86 you
would be able to bring out the Gael in a form
worthy of being a representative of Gaelic liter¬
ature. Even fifty cents from each individual sub¬
scriber would in the aggregate amount to a goodly
sum.
So now in the name of that dear old tongue —
that tongue in which St. Patrick expounded the
mysteries of the Blessed Trinity to the pagan Irish
— that tongue which Brian Boroimhe used when
he annihilated the Scandanvian forces on the
plains of Clontarf — that tongue through which
our persecuted clergy exhorted our faithful ances¬
tors from the hill sides or mountain glens in
days gone bye, let your readers make a good and
liberal response. I enclose, myself, one dollar
towards the noble object; I will as soon as I
possibly can, indiscriminately solicit all my friends
and acquaintances' assistance and let you know
the result.
Faithfully,
P. J. CREAN.
Let every reader try and circulate the Gael. We
expect to make it a repository of all the old Irish
songs now extant, written and unwritten. Hardi¬
man's Minstrelsy is now out of print, its price in
Now York is $7.50. We shall give it all, with a
good deal more which he has omitted, from time
to time. Work, then, friends of Iris autonomy.
