950
AN GAODHAL
gus beurfaidh na h-aoise neamh-gheinte
beannachd d'a ainm.
Tá nidh eile agam le rádh. Ba mhaith
linn aondachd do fheicsin eidir an chum¬
ann so agus na cumainn eile san d-tír
so, agus in Éirinn a tá tabhartha suas
do 'n obair cheudna. Chum an aondachd
so do chur i g-críoch tá sé riachdanach
go m-beidheadh comhchruinniughadh coit¬
ceann againn san g-cathair so, nó 'gcath¬
air éigin eile. Tá súil againn nach bh-
fuil an lá bh-fad uainn nuair chídhfimíd
an chomhchruinniughadh so, agus b'fhéidir le
cungnamh Dé go leanfadh na neithe eile
do luadhamar na dhiagh sin.
Agus, anois, a mhná-uaisle agus a
dhaoine-uaisle, gan moill níos sia a chur
orraibh, aon fhocal amháin eile: Deir
duine éigin, "Tabhair dom na dreachta
tíoramhala, agus is cuma liom cia dheun¬
fas na dlighthe;" deirim-se libh-se cúmh¬
daighidh bhur d-teanga duthchais; bidhidh cú¬
ramach i d-taoibh bhur g-ceoil, bhur g-cleas
agus bhur sean nós, a's ní claoidhfear
sibh le cúmhacht na Sacson nó aon chine
eile go bráth. Agus dála an chumainn
so, támaoid ag feitheamh agus ag fuir¬
each "le fáinne geal an lae' le dóchas
diongmhálta in éirige gréine na saoirse,
nuair lasfar suas arís spéire na hÉi¬
reann le soilse an fhíor-eoluis, agus
chidhfimíd na h-ealadhna arís faoi bhláth
mar a bhidear fad ó air fuid na tíre
agus ar n-dúithche mar badh dual di bheith
i m-breithribh an fhilidh. —
"Mór árd saor, a ghráidh,
De'n mhuir sgaith na seoide — de'n tír
sgaith na m-bláth."
Translation.
Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen — You are
heartily welcome here to night. We are much re¬
joiced at seeing you all in this glorious assemblage
of the children of the Gael, for your presence de¬
monstrates to the world that you are not indiffer¬
ent regarding your language and your music, and
that the spirit of true patriotism still burns in
your breasts. And surely it is no wonder that
you are present in such numbers as the cause of
your language is your country's cause and you ful¬
ly appreciate the fact.
But, unfortunately, though there are a great ma¬
ny Irishmen in this city who evince an interest in
our language, how few there are, even in Ireland
and throughout the world, that show the interest
the subject demands. Many of them are ashamed
to acknowledge their Celtic origin, or that they un¬
derstand a word of the language of their fathers.
And why is this shame? It is because they have
not read history. It is because they are ignorant of
Celtic literature. Doubtless, many of them never
heard of Leabhar na h-Uidhre, the Yellow Book
of Leacain, the Book of Rights, etc. We have
thousands of such manuscripts which are so highly
prized by the savants of Europe—the most learned
of the Continental professors—that they devote
much time to the study and even editing and pub¬
lishing of these relics of Erin's past greatness and
civilization. The greater number of these old ma¬
nuscripts are older than any other manuscripts ex¬
tant, with the exception of one or two copies of the
Sacred Scriptures; and all of them are devoted to
the the history of Ireland, the cultivation of the
arts and sciences, and to every thing that pertains
to the life and manners of our ancestors in the old¬
en time.
It is with a view to the cultivation of the language
in which these manuscripts are written — the lang¬
uage of the Geal — that this our Gaelic Society was
founded. We who belong to this society think that
this work is the essence of true patriotism ; for, it
is certain that unless the language of the Gael be
preserved from extinction, in a hundred years there
will be no Gaelic nation left. Whatever character¬
istics we possess as a people, it is certain as an eth¬
nological fact that it is owing to our native lang¬
uage they remain as characteristics with us. We,
therefore, call upon you, children of the Gael, to
extend to us a helping hand in our work on behalf
of our ancient language. We are especially put¬
ting forward our best efforts at this time for the
founding of a chair for the cultivation and study
of the Irish language and the History of Ireland
in the Catholic University at Washington. Can we
count on your aid? Many of you are blessed with
wealth ; and, surely, I know of nothing better cal¬
culated to transmit your memory to posterity than
the bestowal of a portion of this wealth for the
founding of this professorship. I affirm without
fear of contradiction, that whoever founds this
chair may well say of himself, "Exegi monument¬
um aere perennius,” and future generations shall
bless his name.
Another matter also claims attention. We should
like to see union exist between this society and kin¬
dred sccieties, both here and in Ireland. In order
to establish this union it is necessary that a gener¬
al convention should be held in this city, or in some
other central location. We hope to see this conven¬
tion at no distant day, and then, perhaps, with
God’s blessing, the other good things we speak of
will follow.
And, now, ladies and gentlemen, one word more.
Some body has said, “Give me the writing of the
National ballads and let who will make the laws "
but I say to you, cultivate your native language -
be solicitous for the preservation of your music,
your National pastimes and your old customs, and
the power of the Saxon or that of any other Nation¬
ality will never prevail over you. As regards this
society, we are watching and waiting for “the daw¬
ning of the day" with unwavering hope in the ris¬
ing of the sun of freedom, when the intellectual
atmosphere of Ireland will be again illumined
with the light of true learning — when the arts and
sciences shall again blossom throughout the land,
and we shall see our Mothers’ land, in the words of
the poet, —
“Great, glorious and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem of the sea."
