Irish Language Activist
Heusaff and his wife were members of Conradh na Gaeilge and involved in Na Teaghlaigh Ghaelacha, an organisation for Irish speaking families. Bríd became a member of the Executive of Conradh na Gaeilge and was very active in Irish language activities. Heusaff took part in Irish language campaigns such as Cearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta and was the first person to refuse, on principle, to pay a television licence because of Raidió Teilifís Éireann's (RTÉ) neglect of Irish language programmes. This campaign ultimately resulted in the establishment of Teilifís na Gaeilge (later TG4) in 1996.
In 1986 Irish President, Patrick Hillery, presented him with the Gradam an Phiarsaigh annual award for promoting the ideals of Patrick Pearse in contemporary Ireland. Later that year he was elected as a Bard of the Welsh Gorsedd, as "Gwenerzh" (Muse) as having made a distinguished contribution to the Welsh nation, language and culture. (20)
Read more about this topic: Alan Heusaff
Famous quotes containing the words irish, language and/or activist:
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)
“Now stamp the Lord’s Prayer on a grain of rice,
A Bible-leaved of all the written woods
Strip to this tree: a rocking alphabet,
Genesis in the root, the scarecrow word,
And one light’s language in the book of trees.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“If we love-and-serve an ideal we reach backward in time to its inception and forward to its consummation. To grow is sometimes to hurt; but who would return to smallness?”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 3 (1962)