Ireland owes its freedom to the spread of the English language which allowed for the spread of Irish nationalist ideals by writers such as Thomas Davis in a way that would not have been possible through the Irish language, according to historian, Prof John A Murphy.

Emeritus Professor of History at UCC, Prof Murphy said he had always been intrigued by the paradox that the growth of Irish nationalism in the 19th century was exclusively through the English language.

“It’s arguable that the advance of English literacy from the 1830s onwards was a good thing for Irish nationalism – we are reluctant to acknowledge that we owe the growth of Irish nationalism and essentially our freedom to the English language,” he said.

Speaking to the Mallow Field Club to mark the bicentenary of Thomas Davis’s birth in the town in 1814, Prof Murphy said Davis was the most important…

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