Remarks at the launch of Reproductions of Lia Fáil
21 March 2013
A Dhaoine Uaisle
Tá ríméad orm a bheith anseo inniu chun macasamhail Lia Fáil a sheoladh agus chun Éigse a athsheoladh. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Dochtúir Attracta Halpin as an gcuireadh a thug sí dom a bheith in bhur gcomhluadar agus táim fíorbhuíoch díbhse as an bhfáilte chroíúil sin a thug sibh dom ansin.
[Ladies and Gentlemen
I am delighted to be here today for the launch of the reproduction of Lia Fáil and the relaunch of Éigse. I would like to thank Dr. Attracta Halpin for her kind invitation to join you and all of you for that kind welcome.]
Fear ab ea Dubhghlás de hÍde a thug, ar bhealaí éagsúla, iomlán a shaoil ar mhaithe leis an teanga, agus go háirithe ar mhaithe le léann na Gaeilge agus lena bhuanú. Ba mhór an spreagadh an grá sin a thug sé don Ghaeilge; is féidir é a choimriú ina ráiteas paiseanta a ndearna mé tagairt cheana dó ar ócáidí roimhe seo, “Wherever Irish is the vernacular of the people, their lives are enshrined in its memories and imaginations ……if we allow one of the finest and the richest languages in Europe, which, fifty years ago, was spoken by nearly four millions of Irishmen, to die out without a struggle, it will be an everlasting disgrace.”
[Douglas de hÍde was a man who, in many ways, devoted his life to the language and in particular to the study and perpetuation of the Irish language. His love of the Irish language was inspiring; summed up by his impassioned statement, which I have quoted on previous occasions, “‘Wherever Irish is the vernacular of the people, their lives are enshrined in its memories and imaginations ......if we allow one of the finest and the richest languages in Europe, which, fifty years ago, was spoken by nearly four millions of Irishmen, to die out without a struggle, it will be an everlasting disgrace.”]
Tá beagnach nócha bliain caite ó foilsíodh an chéad imleabhar de chuid Lia Fáil sa bhliain 1926 (naoi déag fiche sé). Samhlaíodh agus cruthaíodh Lia Fáil i dtír a bhí i ngreim docht na mothúchán láidir polaitiúil; tír a bhí ag streachailt i dtreo a féiniúlacht chultúrtha a aimsiú agus a athghabháil sna blianta tosaigh i Saorstát na hÉireann.
[Almost nine decades have passed since the publication of the first volume of Lia Fáil in 1926. Lia Fáil was imagined and created in a country in the grip of strong political passions; a country struggling to find and reclaim its own cultural identity in the early days of the Irish free state. ]
Ba choimhlint fhadbhraite í ag An gCraoibhín Aoibhinn, agus ról tábhachtach áimirt aige inti agus go leor réamhoibre á déanamh aige faoina coinne ar feadh na mblianta. I bhfad roimh ár dtroid rathúil le neamhspleáchas a bhaint amach, bhí Dubhghlás de hÍde ag déanamh a sheacht ndícheall chun caomhnú na teanga náisiúnta a chinntiú agus chun suim agus bród a spreagadh inti; teanga a bhí tite in ísle brí tar éis na mblianta fada faoi riail na Breataine agus teanga a raibh an galldú ag brú isteach uirthi agus ar an saol a bhí chomh mór faoi thionchar na heisimirce agus a bhí sé faoi thionchar theanga choiteann an stáit. Í scriosta ag an mbochtanas agus ag polasaí eacnamaíochta a leagadh síos le dul chun leas na hImpireachta seachas dul chun riachtanas na ndúchasach, rinneadh teanga an bhochtanais de, fad is a bhain sé le teaghlaigh nach raibh ach bád na himirce i ndán dóibh. De bharr chúinsí nua a dteanga tháinig náire orthu, agus mar a dúirt Dubhghlás de hÍde ina fhocail féin…“made young men and women blush and hang their heads when overheard speaking their own language.”
[It was a struggle which An Craobhin Aoibhinn had long perceived and in which he had, for many years, been playing a significant role and laying much groundwork. Long before our successful fight achievement of independence Douglas de hÍde had been ardently seeking to ensure the preservation of, and to stimulate pride and interest in, a national language which after many years of British rule and the inroads of Anglicisation into a life now as heavily influenced by emigration as by the ingress of a new state vernacular, was at a very low ebb. Broken by poverty and an economic policy that was designed to serve the interests of empire rather than native needs, Irish had for families waiting for bad na h’Imirce become a teanga an bhochtanais. The new circumstances of their language had, in Douglas de hÍde’s own words, “made young men and women blush and hang their heads when overheard speaking their own language.”]
San alt a scríobh sé in 1892 (ocht déag nócha dó) ‘The Necessity for De-Anglicising the Irish Nation’, labhair sé faoi chine ‘who had ceased to become Irish without becoming English’; cine a bhí ag géilleadh don ghalldú de réir a chéile ach ag an am céanna a raibh neamhchion ar an Sasanach ó dhúchas acu agus nár thaitin an smaoineamh leo go ndéanfaí Sasanach díobh agus go ndéanfaí cuid dhílis den Ríocht Aontaithe dá dtír.
[In his 1892 article ‘The Necessity for De-Anglicising the Irish Nation’, he spoke of a race who had ‘ceased to become Irish without becoming English’; a race submitting to a gradual Anglicisation whilst also retaining a strong and instinctive antipathy toward the idea of becoming Englishmen and allowing their country to become an integral part of the United Kingdom.]
San alt sin, mhol Dubhghlás de hÍde d’Éireannaigh seasamh in aghaidh chúngú fáilí an ghalldaithe ar a gcultúr, agus tréaniarracht a dhéanamh forbairt mhuintir na hÉireann a ghríosú de réir nósanna Éireannacha “because upon Irish lines alone can the Irish race once more become what it was of yore — one of the most original, artistic, literary, and charming peoples of Europe.”
[In that article, Douglas de hÍde urged the Irish people to resist the quiet encroachment of Anglicisation into their culture and to strive to allow the Irish people to develop upon Irish lines “because upon Irish lines alone can the Irish race once more become what it was of yore — one of the most original, artistic, literary, and charming peoples of Europe.”]
Deir Thomas Duddy, nach maireann, gurbh iad meáin na teanga, na litríochta agus na n-ealaíon príomhchúram lucht na hAthbheochana Gaelaí amhail Dubhghlás de hÍde agus George Russell, mar gur trí na príomh-mheáin sin arbh fhéidir le comhfhios nó pearsantacht náisiúnta a mheon féin a nochtadh agus a cheiliúradh. Mar a deir John Hutchinson, bíonn deis ag an ealaíontóir cruthaitheach ceachtanna in eispéireas stairiúil an phobail a léiriú go drámatúil agus dá réir sin, na glúine atá le teacht a spreagadh chun féintuisceana mar dhaoine aonair nó mar chomhphobal.
[The late Thomas Duddy tells us that the media of language, literature and the arts were the chief preoccupation of the Gaelic revivalists such as Douglas de hÍde and George Russell, precisely because they are the chief media through which a national consciousness or national personality could be made to discover and celebrate itself. The artist crator has the opportunity, as John Hutchinson says, of ‘dramatising the lessons’ of a community’s historical experience and thereby inspiring future generations to individual and collective self- realisation.]
Ba é an cúram a bhí ag George Russell agus é ag scríobh sa bhliain 1930 (naoi déag tríocha), go gairid i ndiaidh dúinn ár neamhspleáchas a bhaint amach, go bhforbrófaí traidisiún machnamhach náisiúnta in Éirinn, bealach smaointeoireachta a bheadh fíréanta, agus go mbeadh an lucht cruthaitheach inár measc – scoláirí, eacnamaithe, eolaithe, smaointeoirí, oideachasóirí agus an lucht liteartha – in ann doimhne an chomhfheasa náisiúnta a líonadh agus lánmhaireacht a dhéanamh den fholús. (…fill the ‘desert depths’ of national consciousness, mar a thug sé air, “and turn the void into a fullness”).
[Writing in 1930, shortly after our independence, George Russell was particularly and specifically concerned that Ireland would develop a national reflective tradition, a way of’ thinking authentically’ and that the creative among us, including “scholars, economists, scientists, thinkers, educationalists and the literary” would fill what he called the ‘desert depths’ of national consciousness and “ turn the void into a fullness”.]
Thart ar tríocha cúig bliain tar éis an alt a scríobh sé in 1892 rinne Dubhghlás de hÍde seoladh agus eagarthóireacht ar an gcéad eagrán d’irisleabhar nua i léann na Gaeilge, Lia Fáil, ainm a baisteadh as cloch na cinniúna a thug Tuatha Dé Danann go Teamhair. Bhí Éire fós ina hoileán a bhí lán de chontrárthacht; is in Éirinn a saolaíodh an ‘áilleacht áibhéileach’ nó ‘the terrible beauty’ i sárshaothar Yeats, agus Éire ina raibh an t-idéalachas agus an rómánsaíocht taobh le fianaise na bochtaineachta anfhorlannaí agus na gcúinsí géara sóisialta; áit ar eascraíodh an mórmhisneach agus an gníomhú neamhleithleach as an daoirse; agus a raibh an-soineantacht in éineacht le gaiscíocht mhór. Ba é sin an t-am freisin, áfach, nuair a bhí Rialtas nua dúchasach ag glacadh le hathbheochan na Gaeilge mar chuspóir tábhachtach náisiúnta; cuspóir a raibh de shúil aige an dúil dhúchasach sin a bhí ag fir agus ag mná na hÉireann a chomhoiriúnú chun a gcuid Éireannachais a chosaint, le bród nua-aimsithe ina gcultúr agus ina n-oidhreacht Ghaelach.
[It was almost thirty five years after his 1892 article that Douglas de hÍde launched and edited the first edition of the new Irish studies journal, Lia Fáil, named after the stone of destiny brought by the De Dannanns to Tara. Ireland was still an Island of great contradictions; the Ireland which had given birth to the ‘terrible beauty’ of Yeats’ masterpiece, and an Ireland where idealism and romanticism were accompanied by the reality of grinding poverty and harsh social conditions; where oppression gave birth to courage and selfless action; and where great naivety went hand in hand with great heroism. It was also a time, however, when a new and native Government was adopting the revival of the Irish language as an important national objective; an objective that would hopefully harmonise that instinctive desire of Irish men and women to defend their Irishness, with a new found pride in their Irish culture and heritage.]
Chuaigh An Craoibhín i ngleic lena obair eagarthóireachta le brí agus le haigne oscailte mar ba dhual dó, i bhfách leis an deis a thapú chun léann agus úsáid ár dteanga dhúchais a chur chun cinn, cibé an raibh sé le fáil i lámhscríbhinní nó i mbéal an phobail tuaithe.
[An Craoibhin approached his task as editor with characteristic vigour and open-mindedness, eager to seize the opportunity to further the study and utilization of our native language, whether it was to be found in manuscripts or on the lips of the country people.]
Nuair a bhreathnaimid ar imleabhair Lia Fáil athfhoilsithe anseo, feicimid go leor ábhar spéise liteartha agus intleachtúil an fhir seo ag teacht le chéile, fear a ndearnadh Franklin Roosevelt cur síos aitheanta air roinnt blianta ina dhiaidh sin nuair a thug sé ‘a fine and scholarly old gentleman’ air.
Scríobh Douglas Hyde, mar a bhí aithne ag Roosevelt air, a shleachta uathúla féin in Lia Fáil, obair eagarthóireachta ar scéalta próis na Nua-Ghaeilge as lámhscríbhinní ina measc, – go minic is lámhscríbhinní ar leis féin iad a bhí iontu, nó lámhscríbhinní a fuair sé ar iasacht ó chairde de gach aicme sóisialta chomh maith le leaganacha béaloidis de scéalta a bhailigh sé ó bhéal agus é ag déanamh taighde sna Gaeltachtaí. Is eiseamláir inbhraite é Lia Fáil den spiorad iontach daonlathach, ar saintréith é den fhear, nár theip air riamh féachaint lasmuigh de na teorainneacha náisiúnta, polaitiúla agus reiligiúnacha a bhíonn ina chnámh spairne eadrainn chomh minic sin, agus nár theip air aithint a thabhairt do dhínit uilíoch chomhroinnte an uile dhuine daonna ar domhan.
[When we look at these republished volumes of Lia Fáil we can see the coming together of many of the literary and intellectual interests of the man so famously described by Franklin Roosevelt some years later as ‘a fine and scholarly old gentleman’. Douglas Hyde, as he would be known to Roosevelt, made his own unique contributions to Lia Fáil including the editing of modern Irish prose tales from manuscripts, - frequently manuscripts which he himself owned or which were lent to him by friends of high and low status and folklore versions of tales collected by him orally in field-work in the Irish-speaking areas. Lia Fáil is, in fact, a very tangible example of the great democratic spirit which was so characteristic of the man who never failed to look beyond the national, political and religious boundaries that so often divide us, and to recognise the shared and universal human dignity of all people.]
Ba phríomhthréithe shealbhaíocht Dhubhghláis de hÍde mar chéad-Uachtarán na hÉireann na cáilíochtaí sin ar bhealaí go leor. Déantar cur síos ar a uachtaránacht go minic mar cheann ciúin agus díniteach, ceann a raibh an drochshláinte ina bhacainn air ar go leor bealaí. Ach tá a fhios againn gur éirigh conspóid an-mhór nuair a cuireadh as oifig mar Phátrún ar an gCumann Lúthchleas Gael é go luath ina théarma oifige mar Uachtarán, de bharr gur fhreastail sé ar chluiche idirnáisiúnta sacair i bPáirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh. Agus tagairt á déanamh aige don toirmeasc, dúirt an Irish Times gur bua Phiorrach a bhí ag an gCumann Lúthchleas Gael agus dúirt ‘the head of the State will continue to be the representative of all the people, and not of any clique, however large it may be’.
[They were qualities which, in many ways, characterised Douglas de hÍde’s tenure as first President of Ireland. His presidency is often described as a quiet and dignified one, one limited, in many ways, by ill health. However, we know that early on in his term he was to cause huge controversy when he was removed as Patron of the GAA for attending an international soccer match in Dalymount Park. Commenting on the ban, the Irish Times described the GAA’s victory as ‘pyrrhic’ stating that ‘the head of the State will continue to be the representative of all the people, and not of any clique, however large it may be’.]
Is ráiteas é a rinne coimriú fírinneach ar uachtaránacht Dhubhghláis de hÍde agus a ndearna Dónal Ó Suilleabháin é a athlua nuair a scríobh sé sa bhliain 1940:
‘If anyone is deserving of the highest honour the State can bestow, it is he. Moreover, he is no scholarly recluse, but a genial man of the world whom it is easy to love and impossible to dislike; and, as is the case with most educated men who know the Irish language thoroughly, his devotion to it has never made him intolerant.
There is the added fact that as Dr. Hyde is not of the faith of the majority his unopposed election to the presidency offered a salutary object lesson in religious toleration.’
[It was a statement which truly summed up Douglas Hyde’s Presidency and was echoed by Donal O’Sullivan in 1940 when he wrote:
‘If anyone is deserving of the highest honour the State can bestow, it is he. Moreover, he is no scholarly recluse, but a genial man of the world whom it is easy to love and impossible to dislike; and, as is the case with most educated men who know the Irish language thoroughly, his devotion to it has never made him intolerant. There is the added fact that as Dr Hyde is not of the faith of the majority his unopposed election to the presidency offered a salutary object lesson in religious toleration.’]
Déanaimid athsheoladh inniu ar Éigse, a tháinig as Lia Fáil agus a bhfuil raon leathan taighde i réimse theanga agus litríocht na Gaeilge á shaothrú aige. Tá scóip agus raon na dtopaicí agus an dioscúrsa i ngach imleabhar Éigse leathan agus ilchineálach. Bíonn anailís liteartha taobh le taobh le plé ar mhoirfeafóinéimic na Gaeilge, nó le húsáid na téarmeolaíochta dlí i saothar an fhile Éireannaigh, Seán Óg Ó hUiginn; tagann tráchtas ar chanúneolaíocht roimh dhioscúrsa ar shanasaíocht, agus aistí critice i mBéarla agus i nGaeilge ag sníomh, gan uaim eatarthu, ceann i ndiadh a chéile, ag teacht le chéile ar fheabhas ar bhealach a ceapadh a bheith dodhéanta uair amháin.
[Today we re-launch Éigse which evolved from Lia Fáil and continues to cultivate a wide range of research in the field of Irish language and literature. The scope and extent of topics and discourse contained in each volume of Eigse is wide ranging and multifarious. Literary analysis sits side by side with discussion on the morphophonemics of the Irish language, or the use of legal terminology in the work of the Irish poet Sean Óg Ó hUiginn; a discourse on etymology is preceded by a treatise on dialect while Irish and English critiques flow seamlessly, one after another, achieving a harmony that might once have seemed impossible.]
Tá Éigse fágtha mar oidhreacht luachmhar ag an gCraoibhín Aoibhinn, cosantóir mór na Gaeilge, a raibh faitíos air uair amháin gur chailleamar ‘… the notes of nationality, our language and customs.’ Is oidhreacht bhródúil atá ann agus ceann a chinnteoidh go bhfanfaidh ár dteanga náisiúnta i gceartlár an chultúir Ghaelaigh i ndomhan comhaimseartha. Is cúis mhór é le hómós a thabhairt don fhear ildánach sin – Céadsaoránach Protastúnach ar thír Chaitliceach, a bheag nó a mhór; cosantóir an chultúir Ghaelaigh agus na hoidhreachta Gaelaí a thug dúshlán an Chumainn Lúthchleas Gael faoin gcosc ar “chluichí coimhthíocha” a imirt nó freastal orthu; fear a ndearna Dómhnall Ó Corcora cur síos air mar ‘a writer from an ascendancy background who had come to identify with the people’ agus an t-iarUachtarán a ndúirt Micheál Mac Liammoir faoi, uair amháin – ‘There he sits tonight, beaming with pleasure, at eighty-odd years the youngest man in Ireland.
[Éigse stands as a valuable legacy to An Craobhin Aoibhinn, the great protector of the Irish language, who once feared that we had ‘lost the notes of nationality, our language and customs.’ It is a proud legacy and one that ensures that our national language will remain central to Irish culture in a contemporary world. It is also a great tribute to that multifaceted man – the Protestant first citizen of a largely Catholic country; the defender of Irish culture and heritage who so publicly defied the GAA ban on playing or attending “foreign games”; the man epitomised by Daniel Corkery as ‘a writer from an ascendancy background who had come to identify with the people’ and the former President of whom Micheal MacLiammoir once wrote ‘There he sits tonight, beaming with pleasure, at eighty-odd years the youngest man in Ireland.’]
Is é an tasc comhaimseartha atá romhainn ár dtionscadail a shainmhíniú faoi chúinsí ár linne. Agus sin á dhéanamh againn ba cheart dúinn a bheith fial agus measúnú á dhéanamh againn ar theipeanna agus ar bhuanna an stáit maidir lenár dteanga dhúchais. Maidir le Dubhghlás de hÍde, ní féidir linn ach urraim a bheith againn dó as doimhne agus ionracas a scoláireachta agus a thiomantais.
[It is our contemporary task to define our projects in the conditions of our times. In doing so we should be generous in our evaluation of the failures and partial successes of the state in relation to our native language. In relation to Douglas de hÍde we can only be in awe at the depth and integrity of his scholarship and his commitment.]
Ar deireadh, ba mhaith liom a rá go bhfuilim fíorshásta an deis a bheith agam páirt a ghlacadh san imeacht seo in Ollscoil na hÉireann agus aitheantas a thabhairt do shaol agus do shaothar Dhubhghláis de hÍde agus dá chuid oibre mar eagarthóir ceannródaíoch ar Lia Fáil. Tréaslaím an macasamhlú iontach leo sin go léir a bhí bainteach leis agus ba mhaith liom gach rath a ghuí ar Liam Mac Mathúna ina ról nua mar eagarthóir ar Éigse athsheolta, foilseachán a rachaidh ó neart go neart sna blianta amach romhainn.
[In conclusion, I would like to say how delighted I am to have had the opportunity to take part in this event in the University of Ireland and to acknowledge the work and the life of Douglas de hÍde and his pioneering work as editor of Lia Fáil. I congratulate all those involved with its superb reproduction and I wish Liam Mac Mathúna well in his new role as editor of the re-launched Éigse, a publication which I am confident wil go from strength to strength in the coming years.]
Tá deis anois againn, faoi na dálaí áirithe ina bhfuilimid, dul i ngleic le cruthaitheacht na nglún go léir, idir óg agus sean, ár gcomhfhios a dhoimhniú agus freagairt níos fíréanta, níos críonna agus níos leithlí a thabhairt ar na fadhbanna atá roimh Éirinn.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.
[We now, in our particular circumstances, have an opportunity of engaging the creativity of all generations, young and old, of deepening our consciousness and responding more authentically, more wisely, more originally to the problems which face Ireland.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go leir.]