Eoin Mac Néill was a founder of Conradh na Gaeilge while six of the seven signatories of the Easter Proclamation in 1916 were members of The Gaelic League, so Conradh na Gaeilge has organised a choice of family events as part of the RTÉ 1916: Reflecting the Rising | Radharc ar an Réabhlóid in the Irish-language centre at Uimhir 6 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, from 11.00am – 6.00pm on Easter Monday (28 March 2016).
A bilingual print workshop for families will run every hour from 11.00am – 3.00pm to give children the chance to experience printing in Irish with the old Gaelic script, just as Patrick Pearse did when he was editor of An Claidheamh Soluis, the most influential newspaper in the pre-Rising period, from 1903 – 1909.
The first guided tour of Uimhir 6 will also start at 11.00am, where attendees will hear the history of the building that was a home and university hall of Cardinal John Newman when he established the first Catholic University in Ireland in 1854, that was a Sinn Féin bank during the War of Independence, that functioned as the Department of Finance under Michael Collins’ command under the First Dáil in 1919, and that currently serves as the headoffice of Conradh na Gaeilge today.
Cuan Ó Seireadáin, 2016 Coordinator with Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“The Irish language was intrinsic to the innovative thinking of the Gaelic Leaguers and central to the vision the leaders of the Easter Rising had for Ireland in 1916, while the history of the state is inextricably bound up with the building at Uimhir 6 Harcourt Street, a building that has now become the heart of the urban Gaeltacht in Dublin. Conradh na Gaeilge is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase this fascinating and exciting history to the public as part of the RTÉ 1916: Reflecting the Rising event in the capital on Easter Monday, and we wholeheartedly welcome everyone to visit Dublin’s Irish-language centre at 6 Harcourt Street during the commemoration.”
The opinions and interests of those involved in the cultural revival in 1916 will also be on display in the capital’s shop windows on Easter Monday 2016, thanks to the 1916 Commemorative Shop Display coordinated by Conradh na Gaeilge in association with companies that placed adverts in An Claidheamh Soluis between 1899 – 1932, and are still in business today. Further copies of An Claidheamh Soluis can be found at www.cnag.ie.
Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh from Rathfarnham, Dublin will also perform An Filleadh on the main stage of the Abbey Theatre in the capital at 4.00pm on Easter Monday as one of the highlights of the Féile na Físe commemoration programme organised by Conradh na Gaeilge as part of this year’s international Irish-language festival Seachtain na Gaeilge. An Filleadh is the only Irish-language drama in Irish currently scheduled for performance in the Abbey Theatre in 2016, and the play was written by Alan Titley especially for Conradh na Gaeilge’s Féile na Físe.
The events scheduled in Dublin’s Irish-language centre at 6 Harcourt Street and in the Abbey Theatre on Easter Monday form part of Conradh na Gaeilge’s 2016 Commemoration Programme.
PROGRAMME OF IRISH-LANGUAGE EVENTS: Radharc ar an Réabhlóid | Reflecting the Rising
Conradh na Gaeilge, Dublin’s Irish-Language Centre, 6 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2
11.00 – 15.00 An Claidheamh Soluis Print Workshop (for children in Irish and English)
11.00 – 17.00 An interactive history of Conradh na Gaeilge
11.00 – 17.00 Complimentary tea and coffee
11.00 – 12.00 Guided tour
12.00 – 13.00 Guided tour
13.00 – 14.00 Guided tour
14.00 – 15.00 Guided tour
15.00 – 16.00 Guided tour
16.00 – 17.00 Guided tour
Amharclann na Mainistreach | The Abbey Theatre, 26 – 27 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1
16.00 – 17.00 An Filleadh written by Alan Titley, performed by Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh, Rathfarnham
*There is no admittance charge but tickets must be booked in advance at www.abbeytheatre.ie.*
1916 Commemorative Shop Display across Dublin City
Throughout the day
The historical importance of Conradh na Gaeilge – originally known as The Gaelic League and founded by Douglas Hyde and Eoin Mac Néill in 1893 – has been highlighted throughout the century since the 1916 Rising by numerous scholars and significant key figures in the founding of the state, including Michael Collins in his work The Path to Freedom in 1922:
“The Gaelic League restored the language to its place in the reverence of the people. It revived Gaelic culture. While being non-political, it was by its very nature intensely national. Within its folds were nurtured the men and women who were to win for Ireland the power to achieve national freedom. Irish history will recognise in the birth of the Gaelic League in 1893 not only the most important event in the nineteenth century, but in the whole history of our nation.”
