Capturing the Trenches of Language: World War One, the Irish Language and the Gaelic League

Abstract

While the dominant narrative of Irish nationalism occludes Irish-speakers’ participation in the First World War, the war is a key component of the story of the Irish language in the early twentieth century and is the critical element in understanding Conradh na Gaeilge/the Gaelic League's politicization, radicalization and ultimate demise as one of the most powerful forces in Irish cultural politics. Controversies concerning recruitment and conscription played critical roles in shaping public attitudes within Irish-language discourse. The war not only created the conditions for the League's radicalization but also triggered Douglas Hyde's departure as president in 1915. The Great War politicized the Gaelic League and the British reaction to the Rising helped to establish the relationship between physical force nationalism and the Irish language that has become a familiar feature of the cultural memory of the revolutionary era in early twentieth-century Irish history.