"Not Free Merely but Gaelic as Well": Irish-Gaelic Language and its Influence on Nationalism in the West Coast Gaeltacht of Connemara, 1880-1930

Indianapolis, IN

Language is a powerful tool that is more than a way to communicate - it can be used as the basis for rebellion as seen in the decades leading up to the Irish Revolution (1919-1921). The consistent presence of the Irish language during the British occupation created pockets of nationalism within the British space that ruled the country. These areas in turn strengthened the emerging identity of an Irish nation and were important to the cause of the Revolution. "Not Free Merely but Gaelic as Well" analyzes the relationship between Irish-Gaelic and the people of the Connemara Gaeltacht (designated Irish-speaking region) before and after the Irish Revolution. A culture of diglossia - two languages used within the same community for different purposes - swept across the West Coast, separating the English-dominated economy from the Irish-Gaelic used for resistance. Because Irish was preserved as a spoken and written language in Connemara, it contributed to the wave of nationalism in the years leading up to the Revolution in 1919. More Irish people embraced the language, spreading its usage from the West Coast to the East Coast. After the Revolution, Irish literary scholar Peter Maguire said the Gaelecht developed into the home of all things that are Gaelic and was an inspiration to the rest of the country for what "Irishness" truly is.