Irish Literary Revival
During the genesis of the Irish Literary
Revival at the turn of the century, Galway became a
gathering point for some of the greatest writers in
Ireland. It was here that Lady Gregory began her work
recording the ancient tales of the countryside, and
J.M. Synge found the inspiration for his life’s
work. Countless others, including the likes of William
Butler Yeats, would find Galway fertile soil in which
to plant a poet’s imagination.
Together these architects of the revival
would serve not only to create some of literature’s
great masterpieces, but also to define the character
of the Irish nation that was waiting to be born.
Architects of the Revival
The Irish Literary Revival was a period
of overwhelming significance for the Irish nation. Lady
Gregory agreed with Michael Collins’ sentiment
that the founding of the Gaelic League was the most
important event in recent times. But it was the Revival,
and the Abbey Theatre, in particular, that brought the
movement to redeem Irish culture and language from the
closed councils of a few, to the mainstream life of
the common person. In dong so, Ireland remembered who
she was. It was thus with the knowledge that he contributed
to the country’s volatile pathos that Yeats wrote
Easter 1916:
All changed, changed utterly
A terrible beauty is born.
County Galway played host to a remarkable
portion of these events. Indeed, if it were not for
a chance conversation on a rainy day at Coole, then
Lady Gregory and William Yeats may never have dreamt
of the Abbey Theatre. The same goes for Synge’s
visit to the Aran Islands. The writers of the Revival
drew passionate inspiration from the countryside of
Galway, and the traveller who makes their way to Coole
Park, Thoor Ballylee, or to Synge’s cottage on
Inis Meáin will be richly rewarded with the sites
that helped shape the generation that changed Ireland
forever.
Jeremy M. Usher
November 2000
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