Letting Irish die is the easy option
Richard Waghorne has recently laid out his stall on the future of the Irish, claiming that the language is best remembered and preserved but only amongst academic experts and not the wider population.
In his argument he says that the language is like the Irish famine and in doing so he is either showing ignorance to the actual events or simply getting his comparisons confused. The Irish famine was a blight on crops; it was forced upon the Irish people against their wishes and they had little defence against it, it is widely known that the British government, the rulers of Ireland at that time did little to help the people of Ireland in their struggle and some would even say they encouraged it. To me that sounds more like the English language than the Irish one; an incident forced upon the people against their will when they had no real chance of fighting back from it. Lucky for us the country overcame the famine and has rebuilt itself so that its effects aren’t as widely felt anymore, the same cannot be said for our recovery from the systematic attempt to destroy an important part of our culture, which has only grown.
Waghorne goes on to say that Irish is useless because our history is in English and that the works of our greater scholars is too; he also encourages the old belief that Irish is a commoners language by saying that Irish culture, it’s music and art has always been in opposition to Western artisitic achievements, calling it primative; the music of Indian peasants. In reality Irish music and art is a part of wider western achievements, not in opposition to it; it may not have as wide an appeal as Mosart or Bach but it is a representation of its people and culture just like all traditional music.
The problem with Waghorne’s argument is that he is using history to prop his point up; just because Joyce didn’t write in Irish doesn’t mean that it is impossible to do so. It is complete ignorance to assume that the Irish language has no place in the modern world or in the art of today when it is just as valid as French, German or English.
The Irish language is a part of our history and has been shaped over centuries to best describe the country that we are from, it was formed with our culture and is an undeniable aspect of it; it is true that at present its practicalities are somewhat limited but you cannot use a failure of Government policy as an excuse to take the easy option. Ireland, once the island of Saints and Scholars is now the island of big business; does that mean we should stop encouraging artists to produce important pieces that are relevant and inspired by the country?
I can’t explain why but I get a feeling that now is the time to save Irish; not that a failure to do so now will destroy it but that at this point in time the struggle will be slightly easier than ever before or ever again. It has to start from Government and work all the way down to the people but the fact is there is an appatite to learn amongst the public but no outlet for them to practice; if the Government provide a situation that encourages the use of Irish then people who know it will use it and people who don’t will be more inclined to learn. Frankly I think that Richard Waghorne is taking the easy way out and being far too dismissive as a result.
Update: Donal gives his two cents on Waghorne’s rant and Pretty Cunning points out the stupidity of the 100% definitive claim that all Irish language literature isn’t worth reading.
(Another) Update: Keith has a superb fisk of Waghorne’s article that simply has to be read by everyone; it’s quite a lot of text I warn you, but each word is as vital as the next and hearing a rebutal from someone with such extensive knowledge of Irish culture (that I am simply in awe of) is well worth your time.
Donal
July 11th, 2006 at 6:57 am
Well said. His post on the Irish language smacked of one who believes he’s above all that when it comes to the Irish language.
Yes, the Irish language is not being used to a great degree but I disagree with the implication here that its place is only in art, and not business. It can be fostered in business without being forced on people. Let’s hope that the Government do make attempts to remedy the situation.
Donal » We Cannot Do Without Irish
July 11th, 2006 at 7:07 am
[...] Update: Adam Maguire has some thoughts on the issue too. [...]
Administrator
July 11th, 2006 at 7:08 am
There’s actually an interesting piece in the Sunday Business Post (the one just gone) about the use of Irish in Business; I can’t find the link because it was in one of the bonus suppliments and not the regular one…
Pretty Cunning · The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret
July 11th, 2006 at 7:18 am
[...] AdamMaguire.com [...]
Eoin
July 11th, 2006 at 7:49 am
I know I shouldn’t rise to it but reading that really fu*ked me off. Maybe it’s because of where I’m from and my family background but this guy’s rant really irks me!
Going by his logic we could do without me and all my kind……
An extraordinary lack of knowledge on Irish music and writing is the only defence to his statements regarding both. Do the names Muiris Ó Súilleabháin or Sean O Riordan mean anything to him I wonder….
Administrator
July 11th, 2006 at 8:03 am
Frankly I’m in agreement with Donal; Waghorne seems to making a swing at being another Kevin Myers; picking a provocative subject and boiling the blood to earn readers; problem is Myers covered the Irish language a week or two ago and while I disagree with him as much as I do Waghorne his argument was somewhat cohesive.
Tom
July 11th, 2006 at 8:13 am
There is a changing attitude to the irish language among my own peer group, college grads between 25 – 30. Many of us are starting to realise the importance of the Irish language in preserving an irish national identity. It can be a bulwark against cultural blandness and homogenity, as many of our greatest writers, such as Yeats, Heaney and others, have recognised.
It is through the Gaelic tradition that Ireland developed it’s own distinctive brand of hiberno-english. Through the translations of ancient Celtic poetry, that tradition was re-ignited by Yeats, who directly influenced many of the writers Richard mentions in his article.
I’m not sure if Richard knows any Grainne’s, Cormac’s, Fionn’s or Maeve’s, but those names resonant properly only when you know the history behind them. The Red Branch Knights, Diarmuid agus Grainne, Fergus and the white bull, Cuchulainn and others have all have a dramtic impact on Irish culture and society.
Irish religious art was heavily influenced by the celtic tradition, it was Irish and Latin speaking monks and priests who gave the nation the reputation of being the Isle of Saints and Scholars.
Frankly, these examples have been dredged up for poorly remembered secondary school classes from a mind currently more interested in contemporary European history and international politics, and yet I remember and acknowledge and welcome and celebrate the impact Gaelic has had on our culture, and on the culture of Europe and the wider world.
The Irish language is a part of our national identity and ensures that we remain irish and don’t become just another country.
Richard recommends that we let Irish die completely also represents a final surrender to those who would try to appropriate irish culture for their own ends, to those who want to portray themselves as more irish than anybody else, to those who want to lay claim to Irish culture and tradition for their own self-justification and self-promotion. It is not their culture, it belongs to the people of ireland, and letting it die would be to let something special and unique pass away.
Keith Gaughan
July 12th, 2006 at 3:14 am
but each word is as vital as the next and hearing a rebutal from someone with such extensive knowledge of Irish culture (that I am simply in awe of) is well worth your time
Cheers! Though I think you’re overestimating the depths of my knowledge somewhat, I appreciate the compliment.
There’s two very simple differences between me and Richard: I don’t knock things until I’ve tried them out, and I actually back my assertions up with some research, both of which he could do with trying.
Edge Case » Blog Archive » Being a peasant is nothing to be ashamed of. Being ignorant is nothing to be proud of.
July 19th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
[...] [Tuilleadh plé ar an ábhar seo: Talideon.com, Dónal Ó Caoimh, Adam Maguire] Explore posts in the same categories: language, irishblogs, irish [...]