| Abstrakt: |
The Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) was one of the biggest international news stories of its day, covered in a deluge of print and pictures. The recently established Irish-language journals, Fáinne an Lae and An Claidheamh Soluis, both associated with the Gaelic League, eagerly followed the war. Drawing upon original newspaper sources, this article will examine how the Boer context was utilised by Irishlanguage writers as a medium through which to promote the Gaelic League's cultural, economic and social ideals, before, during and even after the war. It will also address the inconsistencies and moral questions involved in Irish nationalists' idealisation of the Boers, which necessitated playing down, or even ignoring, less attractive aspects of Boer national identity. Finally, it will consider how the Boer context also left space for the growth of political ideologies that were in conflict with the Gaelic League's fundamental ideal and that had a profound and lasting effect upon the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
