| Description | This collection of papers can be divided into two distinct parts. Much of it centers on the work of the Irish language civil rights movement of the mid- to late- sixties, which through the Irish newspaper Misneach sought to have the restoration of the Irish language addressed seriously. It was composed mainly of younger people within the Irish language movement. Much of the material focuses on the controversy surrounding the government’s white paper of 1965 on the revival of Irish, and lobbying/direct action methods for the promotion of a Gaelic-speaking Ireland. There is some correspondence between P Ó Mathúna, then living in Cashel, and the committee of Misneach, as well as correspondence with people such as Bryan Mac Mahon and Seán Stafford. The bulk of the material consists of press cuttings, some photographs from a week-long Hunger Strike held in Dublin Castle during Easter Week, and pamphlets relating to their work.
The second part of the collection consists of press cuttings relating to the life and work of Máirtín Ó Cadhain, mainly from the late sixties/early seventies, including many articles and letters by Ó Cadhain in Comhar. One important item is a tape of Ó Cadhain’s comments on the impending white paper on the Irish language (1964), which caused some controversy as it leaked some of the report before it was published, and did much to turn many Irish speakers away from the report.
Finally there are some other items which reflect the interests of Pádraig Mac Mathúna, including a programme for a night’s entertainment in Dublin in 1955, which include three poems read by Máirtín Ó Direáin among others, as well as copies of Duchas, the journal of the Cashel branch of Connradh na Gaeilge. |
| Administrative History | Pádraig Ó Mathúna went to College in Dublin in the 1950s and was immersed in the Irish language movement at that time. He settled in Cashel, County Tipperary where he worked as a chemist for many years, before retiring to Dún Chaoin, County Kerry where he lives today. He identified closely with the ideals of the Irish language activists involved with Misneach, and was a stalwart supporter of Connradh na Gaeilge in Cashel. |