DE VALERA'S WIFE

New Zealand Tablet, 4 December 1919, Page 13

DE VALERA'S WIFE

■ —4>. p • • . _■' "■■■• ■.,.■'. I■'. ■. t. ':, (By Kathleen M. O'Brennan.) u \ ;.

| ' What of the women of Ireland? When will;an alien Government learn that ' it has ;to deal with \ the women ' ' las well as the men? Probably the most beautiful . chapter Jin the resurrection of. Ireland : is "the passionate role assigned to the women, while the spirit of * sacrifice which ever characterised the womanhood of Ireland has reached gits height in- the women: of the 20th century, .. daughters of the Irish Revolution. Of these women, fitting descendants of-Maeve, Emer, Deirdre, and Granuaile, is Sinnead gNi'Flahagain, wife of Eamon de Valera, the Provisional - President of the Irish Republic. I met Sinnead Ni'Flanagain about 12 years ago at the Oireaetas in Dublin. I had often seen her in : the Central Branch rooms of ■ the Gaelic League, and admired the graceful, vivacious girl, with the winning smile and dancing brown eyes and glorious wealth of Titian gold hair, but it was only when later |I came to work with her that I realised the interesting personality of the girl I had seen dance the Irish dances at the ceilidhs, or take leading parts in the little Gaelic dramas. ■ Sinnead might be described as having great charm ' of-manner, with exquisite tact and good breeding. - To this might be added her tremendous capacity for work, and her intense earnestness. I do not know of any woman in the Gaelic League who surpassed Sinnead in energy and unselfishness. '.V J n those days the various committees of the League, Language Movement, Irish industries and social life of Irish Ireland were small, but Sinnead was always the most willing helper ever to be found where the drudgery and hard : work was to be done without seeking a halo. 1 After a strenuous day's teaching in school she was to be found night after night in the Gaelic League branch ■teaching several classes in one evening, and ever beseeching her pupils to speak their own tongue. Her classes were always crowded. She imbued all with whom she came in contact with that same earnestness with which she mastered her native language. She was a very delightful ■ co-worker, for work to her was joy, and we often found ourselves in happy rivalry. Whatever Sinnead did was carried almost as near perfection as possible, and with the -' true art sense she was never satisfied. She .was. one of \ the most staunch of Arthur Griffith's supporters, and was at times an able contributor to Sinn Fein, writing chiefly on Irish literary subjects. Her great work, however, like all who had the ideal of the Irish nation at heart, was the .Language Revival, and she was one of the. pillars of the ■ Central Branch of the League. ;! The establishment of. the League of Slimmer Schools .of Irish or holiday camps in the Irish-speaking districts of Ireland brought all the students of the language in the jj;cities with their enthusiasm to the country places. In ; fthis way a great respect for the language was awakened ; amongst a people who had almost learned to despise that glorious heritage of their ancestors. It was while on a .visit to Colaist Connact (the Connaught College) that Sin- : nead met Eamon de Valera. No more ideal pair could have come together under the shadow of Maeve's Castle than Sinnead Ni'Flanagain and Eamon de Valera, and ■ —l say it with bated breathl am convinced that her influence has more than moulded his career. Her ready sympathy, unselfishness, keen vision and courage are, I ' |am sure, to-day the greatest support to-him in the big J battle that lies before him. His home is ideally happy, a truly Irish home, with his little children speaking the language of their country, which their parents rescued in time to give to the new generation. And yet, busy as 4 she is in her home, her activities for Ireland have never relaxed. Indeed, she has always considered the building of Ireland the building of the home of the nation. 1 A picture that has often come to me since the eventful week of Easter, 1916, may interest the friends of Irish ■"freedom everywhere, and bring them closer to the soul of Ireland to-day. It was the custom of the Gaelic League during the summer season to hold outdoor demonstrations in places of historic interest through the country, and on one beautiful July day we found ourselves on the hill of Tara. Tara has nothing of especial interest, but to ■ the , 'lrish people it l is clothed in traditions that nothing can tear asunder. On this Sunday afternoon the hill was alive with people who had come from different parts of the dis- • trict, and who were grouped around speakers, eager to hear of the new movements in the country, the revival of . industries, the traditions of the race, or the hopes of the future. Padraic Pearse was surrounded By some. Padraic O'Dalaigh by others, George Noonan, the- historian, had his following, also John McNeill. j As we crossed to speak to Padraic Pearse, .Alice Milligan. said, in a dreamy way, . "We must turn our eyes towards Tara or we will lose the

best that is in us," and Sinnead de Valera replied, with a strange flash in 4 her eyes: "We must never take our eyes off > Tara." ; Since then, Padraic Pearse went on, 'leaving behind him the T unfurled flag; of a._ nation, , r and - Eamon Ceannt followed, '■ leading his men over the top p but -in this picture there still ■ remains the : figure of a little woman whose eyes are fixed on Tara! ;\:- ; r-':'v-- W'