Douglas Hyde

The Professor of Irish who became President of Ireland

Attracta Halpin & Áine Mannion, editors

Douglas Hyde (1860-1949) was founder and first President of the Gaelic League, the first Professor in Modern Irish at University College Dublin and an active member of the first NUI Senate. A leading figure of the Gaelic revival in Ireland, in 1938 he was elected unopposed as the first President of Ireland.

In 1922, thanks to the generous bequest from Dr Adam Boyd Simpson, the NUI Senate accepted a recommendation to fund a journal of Irish research. Hyde was appointed editor. The resulting publication, Lia Fáil, was published between 1925 and 1932.

The National University of Ireland has now published a facsimile reproduction of the journal, which was launched by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins on 21 March 2013. Douglas Hyde: the Professor of Irish who became President of Ireland was a seminar held on the occasion of the launch.

Published by the National University of Ireland