Organisation

“It was not... a language merely that the Gaelic League was formed to save; it was a nation, it was a civilisation. It has restored the historic continuity of the Irish race. It has asked sacrifice, courage, and resolution of its members, and it has rewarded them by deepening their interest in their national past, by teaching them who and what they are and by leading them to see that as Ireland has a past of which all Irishmen may be proud, so she has a future in which all Irishmen may unite.”

An Claíomh Solais, 5th of January, 1907

When we consider the best ways to not only express and develop our unique Irish culture, but to multiply and unify that expression everywhere we go, it quickly becomes clear that getting organised is the only realistic road to take. We have a wonderful example of just how to do that in our predecessors, the original Gaelic League.

In 1893 seven people met in a back room in O’Connell street. This would become the foundation of the Gaelic League, the organisation which started the Gaelic Revival and set in motion the events that would ultimately lead to the 1916 Rising, the majority of whose leaders were Gaelic League members and Irish speakers. The seeds of all future Irish history were planted during that meeting.

They met weekly and shared what they were doing with others, encouraging more branches, or craobhacha, to be set up. Their meetings were a combination of classes and conversation, with a focus on getting the Irish language spoken in the home. Within a few months it had branches in both Cork and Galway, and after four years there were forty three branches. After a decade, there were more than four hundred.

While their main purpose was to get more people speaking Irish, they quickly spread into Irish music, dance and folklore - the latter especially striking the spark which ignited the imaginations of so many young Irish people.

At the national level the League was comprised of an executive committee and several subcommittees dealing with publications, the press, and an t-Oireachtas. At the regional and local level the League consisted of craobhacha throughout the country at which members and a number of full-time timirí (facilitators) organised language classes and lectures on Irish history, folklore, and music.

Feiseanna (competitions), both regional and national, and aeraíochtaí (concerts) completed the fabric of the League’s cultural network. This cultural infrastructure was a crucial medium for the  revival of various Gaelic customs and practices, such as dancing, piping, and Irish harp performance.

It was the first nationalist organisation that welcomed women into its ranks on a par with men. It promoted self-sufficiency, encouraging and aiding people in their effort to educate themselves; it sought to avoid parliamentary politics yet endorsed patriotism and nationalism; it was structured with a headquarters in Dublin, while its essentially autonomous branches in Ireland and abroad were united by a print medium.

Most importantly, it was a forward-looking, hope-imbued organisation.

While the circumstances and environment in which the original Gaelic League was founded are very different from today, their structure and loose administrative arrangement are ideal for modern Ireland.

So how do we get organised?

Gather a few friends, or find a few people in your area, and set up a simple craobh, or branch. This can hold offical meetings as often as you'd like, and between those meetings just meet up to practise Irish together, to discuss Irish folklore and mythology, to learn about local history, or one of many other activities.

Choose a name for your craobh, something inspiring perhaps, but associate it with your local area, or add your area's name so that no confusion will arise between branches.

It's that simple!

When you set up your craobh, send us an email to craobhacha@anclaiomhsolais.com and we'll add you to the list of craobhacha.

We will also put you in contact with other groups nearby, send you a newsletter with updates and information about what's going on, and share whatever you're doing with the world!

Candidacy

While it’s important to be open, it might be the case that not everyone who applies to join your craobh is necessarily an ideal candidate, so it could be a good idea to have an entry group or tier where applicants can be assessed, covering perhaps basic activities and meeting irregularly.

If applicants turn out to be suitable later they can be progressed on to the main group.

There were stringent tests that needed to be passed in order to become a member of the Fianna—while clearly this might be something of a high bar nowadays each craobh can decide for themselves! These might be more suitable:

• Demonstrate the ability to play fidchell
• Recite three seanfhocail as Gaeilge by heart
• Tell an Irish folklore tale
• Demonstrate fitness
• Sing a song such as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzXswoAUi0U

Activities

Here are a few suggestions for activities that can be enjoyed by your group - there are many other possibilities.

Travel

Look at tourist attractions around your location and plan a few day trips. There are also usually a lot of places which wouldn't normally be seen as tourist attractions but might be very energising, such as museums, older churches and shrines, quiet wooded areas, secluded beaches and so on. Try to combine the visit with an understanding of the history and folklore of the area you're visiting, and research it before heading off.

Trips further abroad are certainly also a good idea, and your group might be able to arrange package deals. For more adventurous members, backpacking could be a fun way to experience new places.

The Outdoors

You needn't go far to gain a deeper appreciation for nature - learning camping skills, how to identify local plants and animals and even things like local geology n Irish can be interesting. Can you start a campfire in the same way as a medieval person would have?

The Sky Above

Stargazing and astronomy can be two of the most fascinating activities members can undertake, but the sky has a lot more to offer! Identifying cloud types and weather patterns, learning to use barometers and about how Irish people have interacted with the sky throughout history can be a very rewarding subject. Even normal binoculars will reveal incredible details above us by day and by night.

Fun and Games

Mastering the great Gaelic game of Fidchell, mentioned earlier and in Irish mythology and folklore stretching back to the Bronze Age, is a great way to express our Irish culture, but any game  from snakes and ladders to Dungeons and Dragons can become an opportunity to practise Irish.
https://anclaiomhsolais.com/the-rules-of-fidchell

The latter in particular is recommended to re-enact the legends and bring the mythology to life. Speaking of re-enactment, many places have wonderful clubs which strive to recreate Gaelic clothing and accoutrements. Why not start your own?

Physical Activity

Dancing, theatre, horse riding, sports, archery, and historical martial arts of the sort detailed in this manual are just a few of the historically rich physical activities that craobh members should try out. Historical martial arts may be of particular interest, given the prominent position such skills held in ancient Ireland and the popular imagination.

Food and Drink

There are few better ways to experience the lives of people who came before us than to sample their food and drink, just as we do when we visit foreign countries. There are endless varieties of different - and sometimes quite surprising - dishes from every era. As your skills develop you may even consider holding banquets for good causes!

Arts and Crafts

The great variety of historical and contemporary arts and crafts affords many opportunities for craobh members to explore new areas of expression, as outlined earlier in this guide.

Books

Books on folklore, mythology, poetry, history, learning Irish and cultural skills are all typical topics of discussion at craobh meetings, and can become great activities in themselves.

Music

Song and music formed the beating heart of Irish society for generations and are still critical keystones of our society—there is rich potential for development here!

Besides craobh activities, group participation in the wider community will bring benefits and perhaps attract new members.

Charity drives, fundraising and working to help those less fortunate would be complementary to our aims.

Final Thoughts

Ireland and the Irish have an incredible future before them, so always remember—you are the rightful heirs of heroes and druid-princes, warrior-saints and kings. The very stuff of myth and legend flows in your veins, the blood of the Cú and Nuada, of Fionn and Ború. No false tale this!

The time has come to claim your inheritance!

You are called to fulfil that great promise and become the wonder-workers this tired old world has forgotten how to believe in.

Beir bua!

Chapter List (click to read):

1. Foreword
2 The Irish Language
3. Reading
4. Making and Shaping
5. The Physical Gael
6. The Warrior Gael
- The Crios Belt
- Open Hand Traditions
- Collar and Elbow Wrestling
- Gaelic Weapons
- Seanbhata
- Seanbhata Basics
- Seanbhata Guards
- Seanbhata Strikes and Blocks
- Seanbhata Close Fighting
- The Heroic Feats
7. Tradition and Culture
8. Organisation