Irish Literary Revival facts for kids
The Irish Literary Revival was a special time in Ireland. It happened in the late 1800s and early 1900s. During this period, many talented Irish writers, poets, and artists created amazing works. They wanted to celebrate Irish culture and stories. Some people called it the "Celtic Twilight." A very important person in this movement was W. B. Yeats. He helped make the Revival happen. At this time, Ireland was under English rule. So, talking about Irish heritage, like the Gaelic language, often had a political meaning.
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Early Sparks of Irish Culture
The Irish Literary Revival grew from a new interest in Ireland's old Gaelic culture. This interest started in the mid-1800s. It was also linked to the rise of Irish nationalism. This is when people wanted Ireland to be an independent country.
Poets like James Clarence Mangan and Samuel Ferguson were very important. Their poems helped inspire later writers. Standish James O'Grady's book History of Ireland: Heroic Period also had a big impact.
Many others helped build this national feeling. These included the poet George Sigerson. There were also people who collected old Irish music and stories. Some of these were George Petrie and the Joyce brothers. Editors like Matthew Russell of the Irish Monthly played a part. Scholars like John O'Donovan and Eugene O'Curry also contributed. Nationalists like Charles Kickham and John O'Leary were important too.
In 1882, the Gaelic Union started a magazine. It was called the Gaelic Journal. This was the first important Irish magazine that used both Irish and English. Douglas Hyde helped create it, and David Comyn was its first editor.
How the Revival Grew
The early Irish Literary Revival had two main centers. One was in Dublin, Ireland. The other was in London, England. William Butler Yeats traveled between these two cities. He wrote and helped organize many events.
In 1888, Yeats published Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry. This book was a collection of old stories. Douglas Hyde helped him with this project. Hyde also published his own collection, Beside the Fire, in 1890. It contained Irish folklore.
In 1892, Yeats helped set up the Irish Literary Society in London. He worked with T. W. Rolleston and Charles Gavan Duffy. In the same year, he founded the National Literary Society in Dublin. Douglas Hyde became its first president. Other groups were also active. Arthur Griffith and William Rooney were part of the Irish Fireside Club. They later started the Leinster Literary Society.
In 1893, Yeats published The Celtic Twilight. This book was full of old stories and memories from western Ireland. It ended with a poem called "Into the Twilight." This book and poem gave the Revival its famous nickname.
Also in 1893, Hyde, Eugene O'Growney, and Eoin MacNeill started the Gaelic League. Hyde was its first president. This group worked to save Irish culture. They wanted to protect its music, dances, and language. Hyde's book The Love Songs of Connacht also came out that year. It inspired Yeats, John Millington Synge, and Lady Gregory.
A literary magazine called the New Ireland Review began in 1894. Thomas A. Finlay founded and edited it. Many important writers of the time wrote for this magazine.
In 1897, Hyde became an editor for the New Irish Library. This was a series of books about Irish history and literature. Two years later, Hyde published his own Literary History of Ireland.
Creating an Irish National Theatre
Yeats, Lady Gregory, and Edward Martyn wrote a special statement in 1897. It was called a Manifesto for Irish Literary Theatre. In it, they said they wanted to create a national theatre for Ireland. The Irish Literary Theatre (ILT) was founded in 1899. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and Martyn started it. George Moore also helped. Their goal was to perform Irish plays by Irish writers in Dublin.
In February 1901, the ILT performed a play. It was called “The Last Feast of the Fianna.” This play showed a part of the old Irish tale of Oisin. Alice Milligan, a Gaelic League activist, wrote it. Lady Gregory thought the play had too much talking and not enough action. But it was an important first step. It tried to bring old Celtic stories to an Irish audience.
The Fay brothers started W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic Company. They focused on helping Irish actors develop their skills. Their company performed plays by writers like Seumas O'Cuisin, Fred Ryan, and Yeats.
Around 1900, Patrick S. Dinneen published old Irish works. He edited books for the Irish Texts Society and the Gaelic League. He also wrote the first novel in Irish. He worked on a big Irish-English dictionary too.
On Easter Sunday in 1900, Yeats' friend Maud Gonne started a women's group. It was called Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland). This group included writers like Alice Furlong and Ethna Carbery.
The Irish-language newspaper Banba started in 1901. Tadhg Ó Donnchadha was its editor. The next year, he also became the editor of the Gaelic Journal.
The Abbey Theatre Opens
In 1903, Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Russell ("AE"), Edward Martyn, and Synge founded the Irish National Theatre Society. Annie Horniman provided money for it. The famous Abbey Theatre opened on December 27, 1904. It was located on Abbey Street in Dublin.
Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh played the main role in the play Cathleen Ni Houlihan. Yeats' brother Jack painted pictures of the important people in the society. These paintings were for the theatre's lobby. Sarah Purser designed beautiful stained glass for the same area.
The new Abbey Theatre became very popular. It put on many plays by famous or soon-to-be-famous writers. These included Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Bernard Shaw, and Padraic Colum.
In 1904, John Eglinton started a journal called Dana. Fred Ryan and Oliver St John Gogarty wrote for it.
In 1906, a publishing company called Maunsel and Company was founded. It was started by Stephen Gwynn, Joseph Maunsel Hone, and George Roberts. Their goal was to publish books by Irish writers. Lady Gregory also began publishing her collections of Kiltartan stories. These included A Book of Saints and Wonders (1906).
The Irish Review magazine started in 1910. Professor David Houston founded it with his friends. These friends included the poet Thomas MacDonagh and the writer James Stephens. Thomas MacDonagh edited the first issues. Later, Joseph Mary Plunkett edited the final issues. The magazine changed as Ireland became involved in the Irish Volunteers and plans for the Easter Rising. Plunkett also published a book of poems called The Circle and The Sword that year.
Other Cultural Connections
The Irish Literary Revival happened at the same time as other cultural movements. These included the growth of interest in the Irish language (Gaelic League). There was also the Home Rule movement, which wanted Ireland to govern itself. The Gaelic Athletic Association also grew.
The Revival led to many books, magazines, and poems. Lesser-known artists like Alice Furlong and Ethna Carbery contributed. Later, writers like George Roberts and Katharine Tynan joined the movement. This continued up to the 1930s.
The literary movement was also connected to developments in art. Artists like Sarah Purser and Grace Gifford were part of this. Music also played a role. Composers like Arnold Bax and Edward Elgar set Irish poetry to music. Their works often used themes from the "Celtic Twilight." For example, Boughton's opera The Immortal Hour (1914) mixed many elements of this style.
See also
- Gaelic revival
