Irish Literary Revival - Forerunners

Forerunners

The literary movement was associated with a revival of interest in Ireland's Gaelic heritage and the growth of Irish nationalism from the middle of the 19th century. The poetry of James Clarence Mangan and Samuel Ferguson and Standish James O'Grady's History of Ireland: Heroic Period were influential in shaping the minds of the following generations. Others who contributed to the build-up of national consciousness during the 19th century included poet and writer George Sigerson, antiquarians and music collectors such as George Petrie and the Joyce brothers, editors such as Matthew Russell (of the Irish Monthly), scholars such as John O'Donovan and Eugene O'Curry and nationalists such as Charles Kickham and John O'Leary. In 1882 the Gaelic Union established the Gaelic Journal (Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge), the first important bilingual Irish periodical with the help of Douglas Hyde, with David Comyn as editor.