this is not to decry what was won in other fields. In the widening
future that beckons to us, we shall, if anything, give greater praise to
these good fighters and enthusiasts, who in darker years, even with the
language of the enemy, resisted his march and held the gap for Ireland.


III


On this ground the Gael and Gall stand on footing of equality. That is
the point many on both sides miss and we need to emphasise it. Some
Irishmen not of Gaelic stock speak of Irish as foreign to them, and
would maintain English in the principal place now and in the future. We
do well then to make clear to such a one that he is asked to adopt the
language for Ireland's sake as a nation and for his own sake as a
citizen. If he wishes to serve her he must stand for the language; if he
prefers English civilisation he should go back to England. There only
can he develop on English lines. An Irishman in Ireland with an English
mind is a queer contradiction, who can serve neither Ireland nor England
in any good sense, and both Ireland and England disown him. So the
Irishman of other than Gaelic ancestors should stand in with us, not
accepting something disagreeable as inevitable, but claiming a right by
birth and citizenship, joining the fine army of the nation for a brave
adventurous future, full of fine possibility and guaranteed by a fine
comradeship--owning a land not of flattery and favouritism, but of
freedom and manhood. This saving ideal has been often obscured by our
sundering class names. This is why we would substitute as common for all
the fine name of Irishman.