On my first looking into Sáirséal agus Dill
Abstract
This article is a personal response to the enthralling telling of the publishing feat of the above-mentioned company. Sáirséal agus Dill helped modern Irish literature to blossom and provided a standard of production which the great Irish writers of the 20th century, Ó Cadhain, Ó Ríordáin, Ó Súilleabháin, and many others whom the State neglected, deserved. This work is of the same excellent standard: a substantial personal story told in a scholarly, creative, satisfying way (ars est celare artem), in a delightful, attractive, artistic production. ‘A Publisher’s Story’, the subtitle says, but really the story of the couple who did more than their share for Irish literature. This is a magnanimous, inspirational, honest work, that evokes admiration, courage, and a little anger at the myopia of certain civil servants.
These pioneers of publishing in Irish started a cultural revolution that ensured the attention of the public at home and abroad for the best of Irish writing. The heightened awareness bequeathed to the generation of the Revival that inspired them to achievements surpassing expectations, left a legacy of pride, confidence and energy to the Comhchaidreamh generation; and inspired some of them, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh and Bríghid Ní Mhaoileoin in particular, to recast that visionary flame in the form of a cultural revolution with enthusiasm and commitment. An achievement that demands our attention. Something to be proud of and proclaim as we prepare to commemorate the Easter Rising of 1916.
Please note
COMHARTaighde is an open access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal in the field of Irish language and literature studies. The full text of the article described on this page is available in the Irish language only. English-language translations of article titles, abstracts and certain metadata are provided in order to enable international scholars to discover research published in COMHARTaighde and to facilitate the indexing of articles in certain academic databases.
