Visit to Gaelic League of Detroit, February 22, 2025
The mid-19th-century famine, and centuries of British oppression, forced many Irish to flee their native country, raising fears that Irish language and culture would be lost as Irish immigrants dispersed throughout the world. To preserve this heritage, the first Gaelic League was founded in Dublin in 1893, and branches of the League soon opened all over the world. In Detroit’s Corktown — so named because many of its earliest residents were either natives of or embarked from County Cork — the Detroit Gaelic League was founded in 1920.
On February 22, members of the Book Club of Detroit were privileged to hear from the League’s Janet Anderson, who related the history of the League, and how it continues to preserve and share Irish culture through language classes, genealogy resources, step-dancing classes, traditional Irish music, and more. Many events are open to non-members. Check out https://www.gaelicleagueofdetroit.org/.
Janet Anderson welcomes BCD to the Gaelic League of Detroit.
Beginning with its earliest members, the League was the recipient of many books and ephemera associated with the struggle for Irish independence and its leaders. Here Janet displays the book The Parnell Movement, an early work about that period in Irish politics, featuring Charles Stewart Parnell, an Irish nationalist and leader of the fight for Irish Home Rule in the late 19th century.
Above the hearth is displayed the portrait of Patrick Pearse, Irish teacher, poet, barrister, and political activist, a leader of the Easter Rising of 1916. He was executed for his part in the rebellion.
A photo of Michael Collins, a leading figure in the Irish independence movement in the early 20th century.
Donations to the League’s book collection continue, many from descendants of the Irish immigrants who came to Detroit.
Janet reads from a book inscription. Many of the books in the League’s collection are personalized with immigrants’ messages to family and friends.