“Never mind the Pagans”: the Anatole France controversy in An Claidheamh Soluis, 1910

Abstract

Many of the literary debates of the Gaelic Revival reveal a certain tension between conservative and the more liberal elements within the Gaelic League. The controversy that arose from Máire Ní Chinnéide's article on Anatole France in An Claidheamh Soluis demonstrates such a conflict. In this case, friction arose from France's perceived anti-clericalism, thus rendering his work unsuitable for an Irish audience, according to certain Catholic clergy. However, the women involved in this debate believed that artistic merit was more significant than the religious allegiances of the artist. Interestingly, all sides agree that French literature should provide models for novice writers in Irish. Certain commentators in the League considered French literature as a means of circumventing English influence in their endeavour to shape modern Gaelic writing and the debate also highlights the Francophile dimension of the Gaelic Revival period. Although Ní Chinnéide went on to write another article on France three years later, her assessment of his work in this piece is more measured. This is a subtle indicator of how the Catholic Church would influence cultural commentary in the post-independence period.

Keywords::

• Gaelic Revival
• Gaelic League
• Franco-Irish
• Máire Ní Chinnéide
• An Claidheamh Soluis

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge the helpful suggestions of the anonymous reviewer and of the editors, Catherine Wilsdon and Giulia Bruna.

Notes

^1. Building on the pioneering work of O'Leary, Mathews has examined the self-help aspect of various organisations during the Revival; McMahon has investigated the membership of the Gaelic League; and Ó Conchubhair has explored the Gaelic Revival in the context of fin de siècle Europe. O'Leary, Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival; Mathews, Revival; McMahon, Grand Opportunity; and Ó Conchubhair, Fin de Siècle na Gaeilge.

^2.O'Leary, Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival, 52.

^3.Mc Cormack, Dublin 1916, 86.

^4.Hyde, “On the Necessity of De-Anglicising Ireland,” 78–89.

^5.An Claidheamh Soluis (abbrev. ACS) was the newspaper organ of the Gaelic League or Conradh na Gaeilge. Seán Mac Giollarnáth was the editor at this time, succeeding Patrick Pearse.

^6.O'Leary, Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival, 79.

^7.ACS, April 9, 1910.

^8. Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own.

^9. According to figures that the author compiled from the online resource of the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, in 1903, 7164 took French at Intermediate-level examinations, 934 took German, and 47 sat the Italian papers. Similarly in 1909, 10,780 sat the French examination at various grades, 2077 sat the German examinations, and 13 took Italian.

^10.MacLeod, “Marie Corelli and Fin-de-siècle Francophobia,” 66–82.

^11.O'Leary, Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival, 79.

^12.Banba, Imliogán, 1903.

^13.Ó Cearnaigh, An Stad, 11. See also Garvin, Nationalist Revolutionaries in Ireland; Murphy, Pearse and the Lost Republican Ideal.

^14. For more information on Ní Chinnéide, see Breathnach and Ní Mhurchú, Beathaisnéis a Dó; Ní Chinnéide, “Conradh na Gaeilge agus Fuascailt na mBan”; Nic Congáil, “‘Some of you will curse her’.”

^15. Máire Ní Chinnéide, “Anatole France: Prímh-sgéaluidhe na Frainnce indiu,” ACS, February 26, 1910.

^16. Ibid.

^17.O'Leary, Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival, 79.

^18.Kiberd, “The Blasket Autobiographies,” 520–42.

^19.ACS, February 26, 1910.

^20.ACS, March 5, 1910.

^21. “[Tá] sé ‘na chumas a smuainte fein agus a thuairim fein do chóimeád fé cheilt uainn agus leigint do lucht an sgéil a smuainte fein do chur os ár gcomhair fé mar ba dhual dóibh gan chur isteach ag an ughdar ortha” (ibid.).

^22. Interestingly, Mac Gearailt was based in Cork, thus implying a certain degree of communication between people in Ireland and France.

^23.ACS, March 26, 1910.

^24. Established in 1899, the Catholic Truth Society set out to publish and distribute religious materials in Ireland. The Society was founded to provide an alternative to religious reading matter from England.

^25.ACS, March 26, 1910.

^26. Vanston is Gaelicised as “Bhanston” in this instance. When her letter in Irish is published, her name appears as “Vanston”.

^27.ACS, April 9, 1910.

^28. Máire Ní Chinnéide, letter to the editor, ACS, April 9, 1910.

^29.Mc Cormack, Dublin 1916, 44.

^30. Máire Ní Chinnéide, letter to the editor, ACS, April 9, 1910.

^31. Ibid.

^32.ACS, April 16, 1910.

^33. Ibid.

^34. Ibid.

^35.ACS, April 23, 1910.

^36. Ibid.

^37.ACS, December 27, 1913.

^38. Ibid.

^39. Quoted in “Trinity's Attack on the Irish Language,” ACS, 24 January 1903. For further discussion on Atkinson and the Vice-Regal Commission on Intermediate Education in which this “attack” was made, see O'Leary, Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival, 223–6.

^40. See also the account of Lady Gregory's “purging” of Cuchulain of Muirthemne in Mathews, Revival, 105.

^41.ACS, December 27, 1913.

^42. Ibid.

^43. Ibid.

^44.Brown, Ireland, 69.