Gaelachas an Tí Mhóir

Dhá shruth a bhíonn i gceist: (a) an litríocht féin agus (b) cothú, caomhnú agus cur chun cinn na litríochta. Ní miste dúinn cuimhniú gur minic gurb é sruth (b) anseo a thug sruth (a) ar aghaidh chuig an chéad ghlúin eile. Feictear dom gur tharla sin san naoú haois déag nuair a bhreathnaigh uas-mheánaicme chinsealach na tíre i ndiaidh litríocht agus ardchultúr na Gaeilge. Tháinig mé trasna ar an méid seo i leabhrán beag, An Saol in Éirinn, 1800-45. Social Life in Ireland 1800-45, bailiúchán de léachtaí Thomas Davis i mBéarla in eagar ag R.B. McDowell (Baile Átha Cliath, 1957):

County histories began to be written and county archaelogical societies founded. If you look at the membership lists of these old societies you will see how fully they justified their claims to be impartial and representative and how often in their hands history, contrary to her usual habit, seemed, when investigated without prejudice, to heal old grievances rahter than to inflame them. In the second quarter of the nineteenth century all Ireland was traversed by scholars in gigs and dog carts measuring raths, recording legends, evolving theories or even more enthusiastically refuting them. It was the age of Graves and Prim as well as of O'Donovan and O'Curry and in almost every Irish country house you will find traces of its passage: perhaps in some feeble antiquarian water colour on the wall; perhaps it is a pile of dusty archaelogical journals in the attic.

Hubert Butler a scríobh an méid sin san aiste sa leabhar, 'The Country House - The Life of the Gentry'. Agus leanann sé air ag labhairt faoin íde béil a thug an lucht arsaíochta seo dóibh siúd ná raibh meas acu ar an tseandacht.

It is as though, like their grandfathers, these country scholars saw their opponents in the guise of Judas or Beelzebub. But we owe a great deal to their ill-temper. If it had not been for these unofficial bodies with their backbone of educated country gentlemen, Newgrange would have been destroyed to make a county Meath by-road and Clonmacnois and Glendalough would have been irreparably damaged.

An rud nach ndeir Butler ach atá fíorthábhachtach sa chomhthéacs seo, go raibh Gaeilge ag cuid mhaith de lucht úd na dtithe móra i lár na naoú haoise déag. Ní stair agus seandálaíocht amháín ba chás leo ach seanlitríocht na Gaeilge - féach foilseacháin an Archaelogical Society agus an Ossianic Society. Cinnte bhí Gaeilge ag Graves, Ó Donabháin, agus Ó Comhraí. Níl a fhios agam faoi Prim. Sochaí détheangach a bhíodh sna tithe móra.