Nine special trains bring Gaels to Killarney

Nine special trains brought Irish speakers from all over the country to the Oireachtas - the annual assembly of Gaelic Leaguers - held in Killarney over the weekend.

The Dublin trains alone took down more than 1,200 people and the crowd at the opening ceremony was estimated at more than 10,000. The streets of the town were filled with Irish speakers. Eugene O’Sullivan, the chairman of the Killarney Urban District Council, welcomed all who had come to the town.

The Oireachtas is the latest in a series of events, in the month of July, aimed at promoting the national identity, including the Aughrim Feis (left) and a Military Fete organised by the Castlebar Battalion of the Irish Volunteers. (Images: ITMA & National Library of Ireland, MacManus Collection)

He said that the work of the Gaelic League in saving the language of the nation was a necessary complement to the work of politicians in achieving autonomy for Ireland.