ON THIS DAY, 1879 - Padraig Pearse, Irish revolutionary and one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rebellion, is born. Patrick Pearse was born in Dublin, on November 10, 1879 to an English father (he was a sculptor) and an Irish mother. Pearse became interested in the heritage and history of Ireland at a very early age and joined the Gaelic League when 21 years old. The purpose of the league was to promote Irish tradition and language and it was very much part of the revival of Gaelic consciousness that took place at the turn of the century. Pearse was an enthusiastic member and became editor of the leagues newspaper: An Claidheamh Solais (The Sword of Light). Pearse tried to use knowledge and education to defeat the English and insisted on the use of the native Irish language and founded St. Endas College near Dublin in 1908. St Endas structured its curriculum around Irish traditions and culture and tutored in both the Irish and English languages. Pearse was a pioneer of Irish writing and published poems, stories, articles and essays to further the identification of Ireland as a separate culture. https://youtube/watch?v=_G_0PJkt8zU
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 21:39:46 +0000