84
AN GAODHAL
"A nation which allows her language to go to ruin is
parting with the best half of her intellectual independence
and testifies to her willingness to cease to exist." — ARCH¬
BISHOP TRENCH.
"The Green Isle contained for more centuries than one,
more learning than could have been collected from the rest
of Europe ... It is not thus rash to say that the Irish
possess contemporary histories of their country written in
the language of the people, from the fifth century. No
other nation of modern Europe is able to make a similar
boast." — SPALDING'S ENGLISH LITERATURE, APPLETON & Co.,
NEW YORK.
Who are the Scotch? A tribe of Irish Scots who crossed
over in the 6th century, overcome the natives, and gave
their name to the country. — J. CORNWELL, PH.D., F. R. S.'s
Scotch History.
The Saxons Ruled in England from the 5th century and
were so rude that they had no written language until the
14th, when the Franco-Normans formulated the English.
SPALDING.
A monthly Journal devoted to the Cultivation
and Preservation of the Irish Language and
the autonomy of the Irish Nation.
Published at 247 Kosciusko st., Brooklyn. N. Y
M. J. LOGAN, Editor and Proprietor
Terms of Subscription — $1 a year to students, 60
cents to the public, in advance ; $1. in arrears.
Terms of Advertising — 20 cents a line, Agate
Entered at the Brooklyn P. O. as 2nd class matter
Seventeenth Year of Publication.
VOL 12. No. 8 APRIL. 1898
Remember that the First Irish Book is given free
of charge to every new subscriber.
Subscribers will please remember that subscrip¬
tions are due in advance.
Seeing our inability to prepare the sixteen pa¬
ges of the Gael monthly owing to the difficulty of
securing competent Gaelic compositors, and being
overwhelmed with complaints because of its irre¬
gular appearance, we had come to the conclusion
that it would be more agreeable to the reader
to reduce the paper in size and receive it eve¬
ry month regularly. But being chafed by old
Gaelic friends, particularly, our esteemed Broth¬
er, F S M'Cosker, of Mobile, on the shrinkage,
and lest it should be assumed as an indication of
decay in the Gaelic Movement (which is quite the
reverse), we have changed our mind, and hence¬
forth the Gael will be out in its usual size, and
regularly every month, if we can. Do our Gaelic
friends know that the six pages of Gaelic matter
usually in the Gael would cost as much for com¬
position as twenty-four pages of English matter?
When the movement was founded twenty-five years
ago, we did not for a moment suppose that the I¬
rish, under the then power and prestige of Eng¬
land, could regain their independence; but we
saw signs in the Old World's political firmament
which indicated that, before many years, England
would descend to the level of Holland in the fam¬
ily of nations (We mention Holland because she
was at one time the maritime mistress of the
world, and much more powerful than England has
ever been when we consider the world's forward
strides in mechanical science), and our idea was to
preserve the language that Ireland might enter
the Family of Nations when that epoch, which is
the continuous dream of every self-respecting, pa¬
triotic Irishman, should have arrived. That epoch
is at hand now, and through the exertions of the
Gaelic Movement in Ireland, 1,800 of the
school children were examined in Irish, and 1,385
graduated in it (Vide Report S. P. I. Language,
just received), last year.
In 18 months, the Russian Trans-Asiatic R.
R. to Manchuria will be completed — two years
thereafter, England will not control one solid foot
of ground in Asia; Russia, France and Germany
will check her in Africa, and the United States in
America; then her power is gone, and Ireland
will have her own, if Irishmen be true to them¬
selves, and preserve their National identity, their
Language.
England is only a FIFTH class power to-day !
How the heart of the IRISHMAN must throb and
swell with joy, and than the Czar, for this wind¬
ing up of that infernal power whose bloodhounds
have dogged his steps to wheresoever he has found
a foothold?
England wants the United States to enter into
an alliance with her to help her recover her lost
prestige ; and her claim on us is, that we are An¬
glo-Saxon, because we speak the English language
How the LANGUAGE can metamorphose a Nigger
and a Celt into a Saxon, is a mystery to us (there
are 40,000,000 of these races in the United States)
unless they assume that the Five Million Anglo¬
Saxon scattered among us are THE American Peo¬
ple. Of course, when the Normans came to Ire¬
and and adopted the language, manners and cus¬
tons of the Irish, they became "more Irish than
the Irish themselves"; but for the Irish to turn
Saxon would be, as Dr. Hyde has sung, to change
the saddle for the straddle!
To sum up this matter. — Any man that doesn't
assist in the preservation of Ireland's language is
against Ireland. We have this from Holy Writ,
and he who contradicts Holy Writ, lies!
Hence, then, there should be a Gaelic club in
every town and city where Irishmen reside, and
the Gael or some other Gaelic print should be in
the hands of every one of them.
The Gaelic Movement at home is going ahead
splendidly. His Grace, Archbishop Walsh has do¬
nated £24 to the Prize Fund for the coming Oir¬
eachtas.
