The Ireland That We Dreamed Of
Encyclopedia
"The Ireland That We Dreamed Of" is the title commonly given to the St. Patrick's Day speech made by Taoiseach
of Ireland
Éamon de Valera
on Raidió Éireann
on March 17, 1943. That year marked the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge), a group promoting the Irish culture and Irish language
, and in recognition of this anniversary, de Valera set out his vision of an ideal Ireland
:
At the time this speech was made, the Second World War was raging and the threat of German invasion (Operation Green
) or British re-occupation (Plan W
) was very real.
The speech in recent years has been seen as archetypal of de Valera's backward-looking, traditionalist view of an isolationist, agricultural land controlled by the Roman Catholic Church
where women held a subservient role. It is often misquoted as referring to "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads"; the term "happy maidens" appears, but no mention is made of dances at crossroads (a rural tradition in premodern Ireland).
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...
of Ireland
Éire
is the Irish name for the island of Ireland and the sovereign state of the same name.- Etymology :The modern Irish Éire evolved from the Old Irish word Ériu, which was the name of a Gaelic goddess. Ériu is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or...
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
on Raidió Éireann
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
on March 17, 1943. That year marked the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge), a group promoting the Irish culture and Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, and in recognition of this anniversary, de Valera set out his vision of an ideal Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
:
At the time this speech was made, the Second World War was raging and the threat of German invasion (Operation Green
Operation Green (Ireland)
Operation Green often also referred to as Case Green or Plan Green , was a full scale operations plan for a German invasion of Ireland in support of Operation Sea Lion . Despite its detailed nature, Green is thought to have been designed only as a credible threat, a feint, not an actual operation...
) or British re-occupation (Plan W
Plan W
Plan W, during the Second World War, was a plan of joint military operations between Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland devised between 1940 and 1942, to be executed in the event of an invasion of Ireland by Nazi Germany....
) was very real.
The speech in recent years has been seen as archetypal of de Valera's backward-looking, traditionalist view of an isolationist, agricultural land controlled by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
where women held a subservient role. It is often misquoted as referring to "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads"; the term "happy maidens" appears, but no mention is made of dances at crossroads (a rural tradition in premodern Ireland).