An Cumann Gaelach, QUB - Early Years

Early Years

The Irish Language Society, An Cumann Gaelach, was founded on 30 January 1906 and was the first language society at the University. Prior to its establishment, there had been several athletic clubs, along with the Literary and Scientific Society, Belfast Medical Students' Association and the Christian Union, making the Society the third oldest still active in the University, and even predates the University itself, which was not founded until 1908 (previously it had been one of three Queen's Colleges established in 1848, the other two being in Galway and Cork, now part of the National University of Ireland).

The establishment of An Cumann Gaelach was part of a movement that had been taking place across Ireland and the Irish communities abroad from the second half of the nineteenth century, which aimed to celebrate traditional Gaelic culture and sport. This period saw the establishment of Conradh na Gaeilge (known as the Gaelic League in English), a body for the promotion of the Irish language, in 1893 and the Gaelic Athletic Association (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gae]), which promoted traditional sports such as gaelic football and hurling, in 1884. Like most of these groups at the time, An Cumann Gaelach was founded by Protestants, indeed only 25 Catholics attended the University out of a total student population in the region of 400. Although the Society had only been set up in 1906, the founding members had been giving Irish lessons for several years previous.