Conradh na Bourgeois

LAST MONTH'S Seachtain na Gaeilge was probably one of the most successful series of events organised by Connradh na Gaeilge in Dublin over the past half-century ðyet its impact on the capital city was negligible. A sad reflection on the mass moveement founded by Dr. Dougglas Hyde more than 80 years ago. 

Although founded in Dubblin the Gaelic League was, like the GAA, basically a rurral organisation. Even though some of its biggest branches, notably the Keating Branch and An Ard-Chraobh were based in Dublin, the members were mainly from the South and West of Ireland. A mass meeting in support of the Irish language in the higher education system in the early years of this century could attract over 10,000 adherents:

Today's Conradh would be lucky to collect over 100 for a similar meeting either in Dublin or outside it.

Hyde's principal aim in establishing the Gaelic Leaague was what he called the "de-Anglicisatio n of Ireland". Yet it was the Gaelic League which imported some of the worst aspects of English Vicctorianism into Ireland. Allthough the League was then a community organisation, community dances were bannned. Sets, old-tyme waltzes and other so-called "foreign" dances were considered to be as alien as cricket and hockey and it was only in the past few years that the rule bannning them was scrapped. Even the running of "'ceili" dancing up to five or six years ago was supervised with an iron discipline. It was God help the man who dared wheeel his partner, or put his arm arourid her waist while dancing the Siege of Ennis or the Walls of Limerick. Only the tips of their fingers were alllowed to touch.

Many of the good old Irish songs and tunes were frowned on unless the Gaelic League considered them of a stanndard suitable for the drawing room, The fiddle and the tinnwhistle were discarded for the violin and flageolet and the man who walked into a sesssion with a pint in his hand was shunned like a leper.

Their reasoning was that the Irish language was syynonymous with poverty and the pig-in-the-parlour image of the Irish. The Gaelic Leaague thought that by making the language popular among the middle classes it would gain the respect of all classes.

This they failed to do. The middle classes joined the Gaelic League for entertainnment rather than for patriootic reasons. Or else they joinned it for personal advanceement. On the other hand, the working classes in the city, and the people of the Gaelltacht were neglected by the Gaelic League with the result that the Irish language failed to advance among the people of no property.

Up to the mid-sixties Connradh na Gaeilge remained a respectable, middle-class, mainly rural organisation with no base in the workinggclass areas. Then a new group of young men and women livving and working in Dublin joined the Conradh and after a year or so succeeded in capturing all the major posiitions on the national execuutive. They set up so many new branches throughout Dublin) and concentrated so much on these that the orrganisation eventually shed its rural roots.

Conradh na Gaeilge is now basically an urban organisaation and inevitably in the process of change it is gettting rid of its conservative image and adopting a more radical line.

It is difficult to say, howwever, whether Conradh na Gaeilge's recruits in Dublin are greater than the nummbers lost in the provinces.

Ironically Conradh na Gaeiilge is now in receipt of an annnual state subsidy although many of its modern activities have brought members into conflict with the law. The campaign to have more Irish on RTE by refusing to pay their television licences, and the drive to have more Irish on road signs by daubing or removing English road signs are just two examples of the illegal activities which Connradh na Gaeilge has officiallly sanctioned in the 1970s.

Although the angry young men and women in the moddern Gaelic League may be in the majority within the orrganisation itself, they form only a tiny fraction of the concerned youth of Ireland, many of whom find more satisfactory outlets for their anger within other more radical, or perhaps more illlegal or more violent bodies.

Much of this anger has been caused by political hyypocrisy and humbug towards the Irish language down through the years. Frustraation at the failure of generaations of Gaelic Leaguers to make any real headway toowards restoring the Irish lannguage, or saving the Gaelltacht has also forced the modern Gaelic League to exxamine the methods of yesterrday and experiment with new ideas. But it has still failed to make an impact among the working-class people of Dubblin who continue to look on the Gaelic League as a middle-class body, and the Irish language as the language of the civil service.

It was to this background that Seachtain na Gaeilge was launched by the Dublin City Committee of Conradh na Gaeilge prior to St. Patrick's Day. Although given a fair amount of publicity by the national media it passed off unnoticed by the majority of Dubliners.

One of the highlights of the week-long programme was the unveiling of the Brenndan Behan memorial in Glassnevin cemetery. The fact that it was Conradh ha Gaeilge which organised the event showed what a change had come over the Conradh since the early sixties. Allthough he loved the Irish: language and wrote some of his best pieces in that meddium, there was no love lost between Behan and Conradh na Gaeilge. The controversial poet and playwright was an embarrassment to the Connradh and Behan himself loved to ridicule many Conradh leaders of his day.

But the unveiling could attract only a reported 50 or so to the Glasnevin graveside and many of those .present were not even members of Conradh na Gaeilge.

The organisation's annual Ard-Fheis will be held in Drogheda within the next few weeks, but little more than 100 delegates will atttend from a reputed 200 branches all over 1reIand:'

But too much time was spent in the past on petty irrelevant matters - one Ard Fheis in the early sixties wasted an afternoon debatting whether Conradh should spell its name with one or two "ns".

Full-time organisers are again needed in every county concentrating for the immediiate future on areas where the organisation is strongest. (Too often in the past enerrgies were wasted on counties like Leitrim while places like Cork were neglected for the sake of putting Leitrim on the Conradh map.)

Conradh may have to reevert to the original methods when the most important asspect of the local craobh's work was the Irish class. Since Irish was abolished as an essential subject for exxaminations and for entry to the civil service, the standard has taken a nose-dive. Contact should be made with vocational and other local education committees to ennsure that nobody leaves school without some knowwledge of Irish. And contact must be maintained with the ex-pupils after they have left school. Easier said than done perhaps. But with full-time organisers paid for. by the state the task would not be impossible.

The head office will get litttle more than £1,000 from the National Collection held by the branches on St. Patrick's Day· and the organiisation's two monthly magaazines - Feasta and Rose never reach the 1,500 sales mark.

These figures give some indication of how weak Connradh na Gaeilge really is numerically. But yet it has an influence far greater than its membership.

Some excellent pamphlets on Education,the Gaeltacht and on North/South relations by Conradh leaders have conntributed much to the debate on these complex problems in Ireland today. And it should never be forgotten that the successful campaign to keep control of the second TV channel in Irish hands was spear-headed by Conradh na Gaeilge .•