The Irish Language Movement In County Kildare

THE IRISH LANGUAGE MOVEMENT IN COUNTY KILDARE

The central role of the Irish language movement, and particularly Conradh na Gaeilge/the Gaelic League, has not received the same focus as the seminal political, military and social events that took place in Ireland throughout the 1912-23 period.

This table from The Leinster Leader Supplement published in 1980 lists the wide geographic spread of Conradh na Gaeilge branches in County Kildare 1901-1918. It includes the names of a number of key individuals who were heavily involved in the independence movement itself, including Domhnall  Ua Buachalla and Éamonn Ó Modhráin.

The Decade of Commemorations Committee have previously supported an exhibition on the activities of Éamonn Ó Modhráin that emphasised the role of Conradh na Gaeilge in the nationalist movement. The fact that a delegation from Conradh na Gaeilge addressed the first republican Kildare County Council meeting after the June 1920 Local Elections and historic resolutions were passed in favour of promoting the language shows the influence of and the importance of the Irish language movement in County Kildare during these revolutionary years.

This excerpt from the 1980 Leinster Leader supplement features an article on the revival of the Irish language movement in County Kildare at the end of the nineteenth century. A glance at the Irish Language Movement in Kildare