‘Those little ones immersed in a sea of foreign influences’: Teaching Irish Language and Culture to Children in London in the Early 1900s

Abstract

The Gaelic League of London (GLL) was founded in 1896 and by the early 1900s had about 2,000 members engaged in language learning and cultural activities. This article describes how the GLL reached out to children, believing that while the parents might be beyond ‘redemption’, the children offered new hope for the future of the Irish language. The article also examines the themes and tropes which underpinned this strategy. Irish language tuition was seen as a preparation for return to Ireland for children who were ‘unfortunate’ to be born to Irish exiles. Their lives in London were critiqued as bleak and sad, while Ireland was portrayed as a place which would lift their spirits, and was pure and good. The different strategies adopted by the GLL such as drama, essay competitions and holidays in the Gaeltacht are examined and the reaction of the children to their Irish heritage is analysed. Ultimately, however, as the article demonstrates, it was difficult to hold the interest of these children and many adults queried the value of teaching them Irish while they were destined to live in London. By 1913, the heyday of GLL activities for children was over.