New Cultural Movements The culture of a country are some of the non-physical

characteristics that make a country distinctive. Some examples are:

Language

Sport

Religion

Traditions

Art and Literature

Dress

Anglicisation… This was the fear that Ireland was becoming more like

England every day – if we didn’t do something about it we would be unfit to govern ourselves

Most Unionists had no problem with this but Nationalistsdidn’t like it and set up organisations to halt the spread of English Influence

Did they succeed?

A success?

Gaelic Athletic Association Set up by a Clare teacher named Michael Cusack in 1884

As well as establishing a new sport, it gave Irish men (always men at this time) a chance to run a national organisation democratically

Michael Cusack

Gaelic League Set up in 1893 by Douglas Hyde (who later became 1st

President of Ireland) and Eoin MacNeill. Wanted to end the decline in people speaking the Irish language

It was also felt that Protestants and Catholics could cooperate to revive the language – wishful thinking!

The Organisation published a paper called An ClaidheamhSoluis (Sword of Light) promoting the Irish Language

Still in existence today

Eoin MacNeill

The Literary Revival WB Yeats and other poets and playwrights began writing plays

about Irish topics in the 1890s – up to this point most plays were about English issues and topics (e.g. Shakespeare)

Yeats helped Lady Gregory set up the Abbey Theatre in 1904 –at last Ireland had a theatre dedicated to promoting Irish plays

Most famous play was The Playboy of the Western World –riots broke out in Dublin when it was first performed!

New Political Movements Sinn Fein – set up in 1905 by Arthur Griffith. Same party is still

in existence today (current leader is Gerry Adams)

“Sinn Fein” means “ourselves alone” – wanted independence from Britain but at the beginning was committed to peaceful means (no IRA around in 1905).

Thought Irish people should just set up their own Parliament in Dublin and ignore the British

Willing to keep the King as head of state so Unionists would feel comfortable in an independent Ireland.

Gerry Adams

Labour Movement For many poor people it did not matter if Ireland was free or

not – they just wanted their living conditions to improve

There were people who wanted to end the poverty that affected these people – they were known as Socialists

Some Socialists wanted to have a revolution to get rid of the old system – James Connolly was one of these people

Statue of Connolly near Connolly Station

Trade Unionists Other Socialists, like Jim Larkin wanted workers to form Trade

Unions. A trade union is a group of workers who act together to improve their wages and living conditions.

Larkin set up the ITGWU to work for better wages. Workers then went on strike (stopped working) to force their employers to grant a pay rise

Biggest strike – 1913 lockout

Connolly formed Irish Citizen Army to protect

Workers from police attack

Police attacking Strikers in Dublin, 1913

Feminists At the beginning of the 20th Century women had no right to

vote in Ireland – Feminists wanted to change that.

Hanna Sheehy Skeffington was the most prominent feminist. She campaigned for “suffrage” – the right to vote

Peaceful and violent protests were used to give people the right to vote.

Voting rights was finally granted to women in 1918 after World War 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9qI34r3Nqk