Abstract
As we advance through the 19th century in Ireland, the Irish Gaelic Literary tradition, one of the oldest in Western Europe, found itself in danger of extinction. The failure of the Irish language to find foothold in the towns and cities, and the subsequent failure of the language’s literary movement to transition itself into the printed mode, left the literature and poetry locked within the oral and manuscript traditions. With the ethnic cleansing of Ireland by Westminster well under way, first through forced emigration and then through famine, a small group of scribes set themselves the mammoth task of preserving this national treasure by travelling the country and writing down the songs, poems, and prose which were the result of centuries of literary effort on the part of the native Irish. By the end of the period the population had fallen from almost 9.000.000 at its height to less than 4.000.000: with no monoglot Irish speakers left. However due to the efforts of this small group of individuals we retain most of our literary wealth. This work tells the story of one of them, Peadar Ó Gealacáin.
Highlights
As we advance through the 19th century in Ireland, the Irish Gaelic Literary tradition, one of the oldest in Western Europe, found itself in danger of extinction
Apart from a short period he spend working for Roibéard Mac Adhaimh in Belfast in 1849/50, as far as we know he lived his entire life in Maigh nEalta. His is how Seosamh Laoide referred to Peadar Ó Gealacáin in Duanaire na Midhe in 1914
This level of respect and honour is clear in other references that we have to this Irish scribe from the first half of the nineteenth century; they give us strong insight into the man himself and all he set out to achieve in his life’s work
Summary
In Spite of Dungeon, Fire, and Sword: Peadar Ó Gealacáin and the survival of the Gaelic Irish Literary Tradition. A medida que avanza el siglo XIX en Irlanda, la tradición literaria gaélica irlandesa, una de las más antiguas de Europa occidental, se encuentra en peligro de extinción. Con la limpieza étnica de Irlanda por parte de Westminster en marcha, primero a través de la emigración forzada y luego a través de la hambruna, un pequeño grupo de escribas se propuso la enorme tarea de preservar este tesoro nacional viajando por el país y escribiendo las canciones, poemas y prosa que eran el resultado de siglos de esfuerzo literario por parte de los nativos irlandeses. Gracias a los esfuerzos de este pequeño grupo de individuos, conservamos la mayor parte de nuestra riqueza literaria. Este trabajo cuenta la historia de uno de ellos, Peadar Ó Gealacáin
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