2018 Celebration Marks 125 years of the Gaelic Revival - “Bliain na Gaeilge 2018"

News from the Gaelic league:

The Gaelic League are marking the 125th anniversary of the “Gaelic Revival” with the “Bliain na Gaeilge 2018”. The commemoration marks the 125th anniversary of the revival of Irish. The year 1893 is tagged as the beginning of the Irish revival which in the late 19th century led to the founding of the Gaelic League, Conradh na Gaeilge. The Gaelic League describe the anniversary as: “… a yearlong festival for the celebration of Irish and for the 125th anniversary of the revival of Irish. The importance and impact of the rehabilitation will be celebrated to the public and the current challenges to the language will be highlighted in 2018.”

A renewed interest in the Gaelic language began in the mid-19th century with the founding of the Ossianic Society, a scholarly literary society dating from 1853. The founding of the Ossianic Society led to a steady burn of academic and literary interest in the Gaelic tongue culminating in the the founding of Conradh na Gaelige. The Irish revival was primarily a reaction to the dissipation of the Irish language accelerated by the impact of the Potato Famine: " The Great Famine of 1845-47, which disrupted ancient customs and Celtic langauge social interactions, is reputed to have rung the death knell for the Irish language...throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. The Gaeltacht areas of the western seaboard were the worst affected in this respect, as the greatest exodus of victims of that terrible period came from those Irish speaking districts. The remaining pockets of Gaelic speakers in rural areas witnessed the downward spiral of our native tongue during that same period." - Irish Identity.com

The Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaelige) is the main voluntary community organisation that promotes the Irish language in Ireland and abroad, The Gaelic League’s main aim is to reinstate the Irish language as the common tongue of Ireland.  Since 1893 its members have been actively promoting Irish in every aspect of life in Ireland, from legal and educational affairs to the development of media and services through Irish.  Members of the Gaelic League are in the forefront of campaigns to strengthen the rights of the Irish speaking community.

 Dr Niall Comer, President of Conradh na Gaeilge says:

"Since we've been 125 years since the start of the revival, Bliain na Gaeilge is a chance to celebrate the achievements of Irish since 1893. It is also a way of promoting the Irish language and the challenges faced by the Irish Language in the public discourse. It's great that groups throughout the world will be involved in the Year, and all those groups who are enthusiastic about organizing events for the festival are very much grateful. We expect thousands of events to be organized during the Year. "

See the full text of the announcement on the Gaelic league’s website linked below.

https://cnag.ie/ga/nuacht/1041-125-bliain-d%E2%80%99athbheochan-na-teang...