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Article: In celebration of the Irish language.(A Special Issue: Contemporary Irish Poetry and Criticism)
- Article from:
- The Southern Review
- Article date:
- June 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Louisiana State University. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I have been asked to set down my memories of the '20s and '30s and, in particular, of the part played by the Irish language in the life of Ireland at that time, and I must admit to a feeling of some discomfort at the task. If I have understood its nature correctly, it is a peculiarly difficult one. It involves bringing to life a period of the past beyond the reach of memory for a substantial part of my readership, on the one hand, and yet too recent to have become fashionable, on the other. It involves doing this on a basis of personal recollections from childhood and early youth: this is a positive minefield of booby traps, conversation-stoppers, opportunities for ...