Ulick Joseph Bourke ( ; also known by his name in Irish, ''Uileog de Búrca''; 29 December 1829 – 22 November 1887) was an Irish scholar and writer who founded the Gaelic Union, which later developed into the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

(or ''

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

''). Among his works were ''The College Irish Grammar'' and ''Pre-Christian Ireland''.

Biography

Ulick Joseph Bourke was born 29 December 1829 in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland, the son of Ulick and Cecilia Sheridan Bourke Bourke was educated at Errew Monastery where he studied Irish under Irish scholar and historian, James Hardiman. At age 16 he entered

St. Jarlath's College St Jarlath's College () is a Catholic co-educational secondary school in Tuam, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the Archbishop of Tua ...

in Tuam, County Galway, in May 1846. He then attended

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...

in Maynooth, County Kildare,MacErlean, John. "Ulick Joseph Bourke." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 16 (Index). New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 10 Jul. 2015
/ref> where he wrote the ''College Irish Grammar''.

Ecclesiastical life

He was ordained a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

on 25 March 1858, in

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

by his mother's first cousin, the Archbishop

John MacHale John MacHale (; 6 March 1789 (or 1791) – 7 November 1881) was the Irish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and Irish nationalist. He laboured and wrote to secure Catholic emancipation, legislative independence, justice for tenants and the ...

. After leaving Maynooth, he was appointed Professor of Irish, logic, and humanities at St Jarlath's College; where he taught from 1859 to 1878. He was also president of St Jarlath's College, from 1865 to 1878. Bourke was named as a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the Cathedral of Tuam in 1872. During his stay at St Jarlath's, he acted for some time as private secretary to Archbishop MacHale. In 1878, Bourke served as parish priest of Kilcolman,

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. As of the 2017, it was the fastest growing town in the county, having seen a 31% increase in population between 2006 and ...

, Diocese of Tuam. In July 1879 he convened a mass meeting relating to the

Land War The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...

, a series of civil protests to improve the position of tenant farmers, where Bourke counseled moderation. In 1879, he served on the committee of the Land League. He was one of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the alleged Knock apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in 1879.

Educational and publishing interests

Bourke's educational and publishing interests played an important role in the subsequent

Gaelic revival The Gaelic revival () was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including folklore, mythology, sports, music, arts, etc.). Irish had diminished as a sp ...

that was taking place in Ireland. He was a member of the

Ossianic Society The Ossianic Society was an Irish literary society founded in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day, 1853, taking its name from the poetic material associated with the ancient narrator Oisín. History Founding members included John O'Daly, William Elliot ...

and published Irish columns in several journals including the ''Tuam News'' and "successfully publicized" the Irish language issue in the US and Europe. During 1866, Bourke was elected a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

. He was a founding member of the

Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language (SPIL; ) was a cultural organisation in late 19th-century Ireland, which was part of the Gaelic revival of the period. It was founded on 29 December 1876. Present at the meeting were Charles ...

(Cumann Buan-Choimeadia Na Gaeilge) in 1876, serving as its first chairman. He later seceded from the society with its original founders, and in March 1880, established the Gaelic Union, along with David Comyn (1854–1907) of the ''Gaelic Journal''. The Union, a society established for the cultivation and preservation of the Irish Language, later developed into the

. The Gaelic Union established the ''

Gaelic Journal The ''Gaelic Journal'' () was a periodical publication "exclusively devoted to the preservation and cultivation of the Irish Language". According to Tomas O Flannghaile it was "the first journal devoted to the living Irish language". It has been ...

'' which remained in print until and played an important part in the revival.

Later years

He died in Castlebar on 22 November 1887, aged 57, and was buried on 25 November 1887, at Bearnacarrol (

) in County Mayo.

Memorials

A plaque in honour of Uileog de Búrca was erected by Conradh na Gaeilge at the place of his birth on Linnenhall Street in Castlebar, County Mayo. A

Gaelscoil A Gaelscoil (; plural: ''Gaelscoileanna'') is an Irish language- medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary a ...

, ''Gaelscoil Uileog de Búrca'' in

was also named in his honour in 1981. The late scholar's name is also given to the Claremorris branch of Conradh na Gaeilge.

Works

* ''The College Irish Grammar'' (Dublin, 1856) * ''Easy Lessons or Self-instruction in Irish'' (Dublin, 1860) – Appeared first in ''The Nation''. * ''The Bull Ineffabilis Deus'' (Dublin, 1868) – The definition of the Immaculate Conception in four languages; Latin, Irish, French and English. * ''Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language'' (London, 1875) – A study of Irish Ethnology and the ancient Language of Ireland. * ''Memoir of the Bishop and his Times'' (Dublin, 1877) – A memoir of James O'Gallagher (Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare). * ''The Life and Labours of St. St. Augustin, Bishop of Hippo Regius, with an account of the Canons Regular and of the Augustinian Friars in Ireland'' (Dublin, 1879) * ''The Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary'' (Dublin, 1880) * ''The Dignity, Sanctity and Intercessory Power of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God'' (Dublin, 1881) * ''The Life and Times of the Most Rev. Dr. MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam'' (Dublin, 1882) * ''Beatha Sheaghain Mhic Heil, Airdeaspoig Thuama'' (Dublin, 1882) – Life of John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam. * ''A Plea for the Evicted Tenants of Mayo'' (Dublin, 1883) – Addressed to William Ewart Gladstone. * ''Prechristian Ireland'' (Dublin, 1887) – A treatise on Early Irish History, Ethnology, the origin of the Round Towers, etc.Bourke, U.J., ''Prechristian Ireland'', Brown & Nolan, Dublin, 1887
/ref> * ''A Complete Irish Dictionary'' (Dublin) – The beginning of it was published in ''The Nation'' and the final piece was not completed until his last illness.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourke 1829 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Irish-language writers Members of the Royal Irish Academy Writers from County Mayo People from Castlebar