Eugene O'Growney facts for kids

Eugene O'Growney (born August 25, 1863, in Athboy, County Meath, Ireland; died October 18, 1899, in Los Angeles, California, USA) was an important Irish priest and scholar. He played a big part in the Gaelic revival, a movement in the late 1800s that aimed to bring back the Irish language and culture.

Early Life and Learning the Irish Language

Eugene O'Growney grew up near Athboy in County Meath. At that time, most people in his area did not speak the Irish language, and his parents didn't either. He first became interested in Irish while at school at St. Finian's College. Later, he found Irish lessons in a newspaper called Young Ireland.

He got help from some older people who still spoke Irish. While studying to become a priest at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, starting in 1882, he spent his holidays in places where Irish was still spoken, like the Aran Islands. He even wrote about the Aran Islands in the Gaelic Journal, a magazine he would later help edit. He became a priest in 1888.

A Priest and Irish Language Champion

After becoming a priest, O'Growney worked for a short time in the Diocese of Meath. Because he was so good at Irish, he was chosen in 1891 to teach Irish at Maynooth College. He also became the editor of the Gaelic Journal from 1894 to 1899. During his time as editor, he made sure that more articles were published in the Irish language.

O'Growney believed that language, nationality, and religion were all connected. He once wrote that Irish literature was "the most Catholic literature in the world." However, he also knew that Irish was important for its stories and poems, even if fewer people spoke it.

Simple Lessons in Irish

One of O'Growney's most famous works was his series of books called Simple Lessons in Irish. These lessons first appeared in a newspaper called the Weekly Freeman. They became so popular that they were published as small books. There were five books in the series, and by 1903, an amazing 320,000 copies had been sold!

In the first book, he explained that he wrote the lessons for people who wanted to learn Irish but thought it was too hard. He said that the difficulties of Irish pronunciation and grammar were often made to seem worse than they were. He understood these challenges because he had to learn Irish himself, just like a foreign language.

Founding the Gaelic League

Eugene O'Growney was one of the people who helped start the Gaelic League in Dublin in 1893. The main goal of this group was to keep the Irish language alive and spoken in Ireland. He later became the vice-president of the Gaelic League, showing how important he was to the movement.

Later Life and Remembering Eugene O'Growney

In 1894, Eugene O'Growney's health began to fail. He traveled to Arizona and California in the United States, hoping the climate would help him. Sadly, he passed away there in 1899.

Several years later, with help from Irish people in the United States, his body was brought back to Ireland. His funeral was held on September 26, 1903, in Dublin. About 6,000 people attended, including many important figures like politicians, religious leaders, students, and members of the Gaelic Athletic Association, a nationalist sports organization.

He is buried in the cemetery at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he once studied and taught. In his hometown of Athboy, there is a statue of Father Eoghan O'Growney, created by the famous Irish sculptor James Power, to honor his memory.