“The Irish language is the most important part of our national life.” — Douglas Hyde | V2Melody

“The Irish language is the most important part of our national life.”

Expressing the central place of language in national identity · Speech and writing on the Irish language, as commonly attributed

Memory
Truth

About Douglas Hyde

Douglas Hyde

17 January 1860–12 July 1949

Douglas Hyde was born on 17 January 1860, near Castlerea in County Roscommon, into an Ireland whose languages, loyalties, and social memories were deeply divided. He died on 12 July 1949, having lived long enough to see the cultural cause that had occupied his youth become central to the public identity of an…

More by Douglas Hyde

Poems by Douglas Hyde

I Shall Not Die For Thee Listen

More remarks by Douglas Hyde

“We must begin by de-Anglicising ourselves, and then we shall be able to de-Anglicise Ireland.”

A call for cultural self-renewal through the recovery of Irish identity · Essay, The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland

Hope
Truth

“We must cultivate our own language, our own literature, our own games, and our own music.”

Linking cultural independence with everyday artistic and communal life · Essay, The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland

“Ireland is not merely a geographical expression, but a nation with a distinct history and a distinct character.”

Affirming Ireland’s cultural identity and historical continuity · Public speech, as commonly attributed

Memory
Truth