![]() Logo of Conradh na Gaeilge | |
Abbreviation | CnaG |
---|---|
Formation | 31 July 1893 |
Founder | Douglas Hyde |
Type | Non-governmental organisation |
Headquarters | 6 Harcourt Street Dublin 2 Ireland |
Fields | Irish language promotion Gaelic revival |
Secretary General | Julian de Spáinn |
President | Paula Melvin |
Subsidiaries | Raidió Rí-Rá |
Website | cnag.ie |
Formerly called | Gaelic League |
Conradh na Gaeilge (Irish pronunciation: [ˈkɔn̪ˠɾˠə n̪ˠə ˈɡeːlʲɟə]; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emerged as the successor of several 19th century groups such as the Gaelic Union. The organisation was a spearhead of the Gaelic revival and of Gaeilgeoir activism.
While Hyde succeeded in drawing unionists to the League, the organisation increasingly gave expression to the nationalist impulse behind the language revival. From 1915, members of its executive acknowledged the leadership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the struggle for Irish statehood. After the creation of the Irish Free State, and limited advances with respect to the teaching and official use of the language, many members transferred their commitment to the new institutions, political parties and education system.
In 2008, Conradh na Gaeilge adopted a new constitution, dropping the post-1915 references to "Irish freedom", while reaffirming the ambition to restore Irish as the language of everyday life throughout Ireland. In Northern Ireland, it campaigned for an Irish Language Act. In the absence of an agreed Stormont executive, in 2022 the Westminster Parliament incorporated many of its proposed provisions in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act.