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A century ago something new in the revival of Irish started with the setting
up of Coláiste Chonnacht in Tourmakeady. The Gaelic League, under the
direction of Dr Douglas Hyde and with the assistance of clergy, teachers, businesses
and professional people from the west of Ireland, had been looking for a suitable
location to set up an Irish Summer college.
The then Archbishop of Tuam, Dr John Healy gave permission
to the parish priest Father James Corbett to lease the old presbytery at Mount
Partry (Tourmakeady), the parish priest having changed his residence to Partry.
The Gaelic League wished to buy the premises, but the bishop, wishing to maintain
control, would not sell so the site and buildings were given rent free on the
condition that a poor student would be taken rent free each year.
Micheál Breathnach from Cois Fharraige was the first
Ard Ollamh. He was a distinguished scholar and a leader with new ideas, ideas
that were shared by many others. He saw the preservation of our language and
culture as being essential to our emergence as a nation. His opinions were shared
by Patrick Pearse, who was very much involved in setting up teaching standards
and was in charge of examinations. In an address to the earlier students he
said, "Is féidir leis an tíoránach sglábhaidhe
a dhéanadh d'ár gcuirp, ach ní féidir leis sclábhaidhe
a dhéanamh d'ár dtoil. Sin é, muna nghéillimíd
ár dtoil a thabhaiort do. Agus más é toil mhuinntir na
hÉireann a bheadh saor gaedhealach, ní féidir le náimhde
ar bith gcoinneál gallda nó í ngéibhinn." (A
tyrant can enslave our bodies but he cannot enslave our minds unless we allow
him to do so. If the people of Ireland have a will to be Gaelic and free, they
can never be enslaved. )
Coláiste Chonnacht was recognised by the British board
of education as a training College for teachers and others to qualify to teach
Irish in the certificate course and to teach through the medium of Irish in
the bilingual course. As far as teaching methods and standards were concerned
Tourmakeady college were way beyond their time and brought language teachers
and scholars from England, Europe and America. Coláiste Chonnacht was
a working holiday camp. Conditions were somewhat primitive, but morale was high.
Much of the teaching was out of doors, on the shores of Lough Mask and the slopes
of the Partry Mountains. The Seilig became a new word; it meant a working picnic
at the waterfall.
Most of the local people in Tourmakeady were delighted at the
new arrivals. Heretofore any employment or source of income was mostly reserved
for people brought in by the landlords and their successors. Now there was a
demand for Irish speaking households to keep the students. As one student in
an article in The Catholic Bulletin wrote "All the farmers in the neighbourhood
open their hospitable doors to the students. The whole district becomes a kind
of residential university." The directors of the college had great praise
for the Mná Tíghe, all fluent in Irish, who took part in céiles,
concerts and dances in their houses. It was obvious that the Irish language
was all round them and according to Archbishop Healy's biographer, "The
industrious peasantry are wells of Irish Undefiled." Everyone was a teacher
and the students taught each other. That was how things were in Tourmakeady
at the start of the twentieth century.
Christened "Clíabhán Chonnradh na Gaéilge"
by Dr Douglas Hyde, later to be first President of Ireland. Coláiste
Chonnacht was disowned by the Gaelic League after a dispute arose with Archbishop
Healy over the appointment of a successor to Micheál Breathnach who died
during the 1908 course. Padhraig Ó Domhnallain the then assistant principal
carried on for the remainder of the year. Mícheál and Pádhraig
had been lifelong friends and it was Mícheál's wish that Padhraig
would succeed him. However, the Gaelic League in Dublin appointed Dr Mc Enri
to the position. Archbishop Healy would not accept this and insisted that Padhraig
Ó Domhnallain be appointed and so the schism began. In 1909 Coláiste
Chonnacht was opened in Spiddal, with Dr Mc Enri as director. Tourmakeady, as
far as the Connradh was concerned, had ceased to exist.
Tourmakeady College flourished however and perhaps, because
of the dispute, the British board of education gave more status to Tourmakeady
graduates and until l921 the numbers of students continued to grow. Gradually
however the pattern of student changed from that of qualified teachers to younger
pupils. Coláiste Chonnacht was administered first by Mayo Co. Council
and later by Vocational Committees.
The student's enthusiasm to learn Irish was more than matched
by the eagerness of the younger local people to learn English and it became
noticeable that the houses who kept students were the best English speakers.
What in 1905 was a vibrant Irish speaking community had gradually changed. Many
of the people who fought the landlords and were evicted to the mountains would
have been the cultural leaders, they had already gone, there was nothing to
keep them here. With very little local employment and holdings too small to
support families emigration became widespread. The young people went off to
England and America. Whole families followed and many houses were closed up.
As might be expected Irish speaking families were the first to go. In the opinion
of the authorities, the level of Irish in Tourmakeady did not merit an Irish
college. Eventually it was decided to close down the college and establish a
knitwear factory in its place.
In commemorating the centenary of Coláiste Chonnacht
we are asking families and friends of those people who attended Coláiste
Chonnacht to contact Oidhreacht Thuar Mhic Éadaigh to join in remembering
and celebrating those golden years in our history. A website will be opened
shortly on www.tourmakeady.com to make available all the information that we
have acquired up to now, and we invite people who have letters, writings and
other memorabilia to contact us at colaiste@tourmakeady.com
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