Coiste Cearta Síbialta na Gaeilge
Encyclopedia
Coiste Cearta Síbialta na Gaeilge (CCSG) (Gaeltacht Civil Rights Campaign) was a campaigning organisation established in the Irish speaking Gaeltacht
areas of Ireland in 1969 to highlight the decline of the Irish language and to campaign for greater rights for Irish speaking areas in the area of access to services, broadcasting and ultimately an elected assembly of their own.
Among the founders of the organisation were the writer Máirtín Ó Cadhain
and the community and political activists Seósamh Ó Cuaig
and Seán Ó Cionnaith
.
The Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin under the leadership of Cathal Goulding
and Tomás Mac Giolla played a role in establishment of CCSG as part of its policy of the Reconquest of Ireland following on the teachings of James Connolly
which believed that the reconquest of Ireland required social and political reconquest as part of the campaign for an independent united Ireland.
The campaign was often of a militant nature, such as the placing of nails under the wheels of the car carrying the then Taoiseach
Jack Lynch in Connemara
during the 1969 general election campaign in Galway West. In that election a member of the campaign, Peadar Mac An Iomaire polled more than 6% of the vote in that constituency.
The campaign had some successes, including the establishment of a nationwide Irish-language radio station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
based in Connemara and of Údarás na Gaeltachta
- an elected body responsible for the economic and social development of the Gaeltacht regions but with far less power than envisaged by CCSG.
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
areas of Ireland in 1969 to highlight the decline of the Irish language and to campaign for greater rights for Irish speaking areas in the area of access to services, broadcasting and ultimately an elected assembly of their own.
Among the founders of the organisation were the writer Máirtín Ó Cadhain
Máirtín Ó Cadhain
Máirtín Ó Cadhain was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century.-Career:Born in Connemara, he became a schoolteacher but was dismissed due to his IRA membership. In the 1930s he served as an IRA recruiting officer, enlisting fellow writer Brendan Behan...
and the community and political activists Seósamh Ó Cuaig
Seósamh Ó Cuaig
Seósamh Ó Cuaig is a native Irish language speaker and activist and member of Galway County Council from Connemara, County Galway. In 1969 he helped found Coiste Cearta Síbialta na Gaeilge, together with members of Sinn Féin. He is a member of Údarás na Gaeltachta, having served from 1989 to 1994,...
and Seán Ó Cionnaith
Seán Ó Cionnaith
Seán Ó Cionnaith was an Irish socialist republican politician, and a prominent member of The Workers' Party....
.
The Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin under the leadership of Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and the Official IRA.One of seven children born into a republican family in East Arran Street in the north inner city of Dublin, Goulding was involved as teenager in Fianna Éireann, the IRA youth wing which he joined with his...
and Tomás Mac Giolla played a role in establishment of CCSG as part of its policy of the Reconquest of Ireland following on the teachings of James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
which believed that the reconquest of Ireland required social and political reconquest as part of the campaign for an independent united Ireland.
The campaign was often of a militant nature, such as the placing of nails under the wheels of the car carrying the then Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Jack Lynch in Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
during the 1969 general election campaign in Galway West. In that election a member of the campaign, Peadar Mac An Iomaire polled more than 6% of the vote in that constituency.
The campaign had some successes, including the establishment of a nationwide Irish-language radio station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta , abbreviated RnaG, is the Irish-language radio service of the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Internet.- History :...
based in Connemara and of Údarás na Gaeltachta
Údarás na Gaeltachta
Údarás na Gaeltachta , abbreviated ÚnaG, is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of nominally Irish-speaking regions of the Republic of Ireland...
- an elected body responsible for the economic and social development of the Gaeltacht regions but with far less power than envisaged by CCSG.