North American Gaeltacht launches exhibit exploring history of Irish language in Canada

The North American Gaeltacht has launched a virtual exhibit exploring the history of the Irish language in Canada, revealing an unrecognized part of the Irish-Canadian experience. 

The free exhibit is based on peer-reviewed research and features hand-illuminated manuscripts, poems, and stories, emphasizing the works of many Irish speakers in Canada dating back to 1563. 

The online collection includes Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Conmara's famous Newfoundland poems from 1745 and poems from Tomás Ua Baíghell, who wrote about keeping the spirit of his homeland alive from his cabin in Enniskerry, Ontario, during the 1850s. 

The North American Gaeltacht's Irish Speakers in Canada exhibit also includes Irish-language lessons published in Hamilton during the 1870s by Canadian-born Cornelius Donovan and proverbs published by the Gaelic Revival Association of Ottawa in the early 1900s. 

It also includes documents from an Irish-language printing press operated by Pádraig Ó Broin in Toronto during the 1950s. 

Dónall Ó Dubhghaill, the elected head of the North American Gaeltacht, said he hopes the exhibit can bring more attention to Canada's Gaelic Irish heritage, adding that the collection can shine a light on a largely unrecognized part of the Irish-Canadian experience. 

The North American Gaeltacht said the exhibit is an opportunity for Canadians of Irish descent to reconnect with their Irish ancestry. 

"These resources are your passport to reconnecting with the language of your ancestors and their unique cultural expression here in North America," the organization said in a statement. 

The group added that the exhibit is an opportunity for people living in Ireland to broaden their perspective on the Irish language. 

"Envision a world where Irish is not just a local treasure but a thriving, vibrant, and global language." 

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