To celebrate Douglas Hyde is not to celebrate the past. There is not much point in looking back at what people have said and done if their thoughts and ideas belong only to yesteryear. Yesterday’s statements are yesterday’s news if that is what we want them to be. But there is nothing in the present that does not owe its existence to what has gone before us. There would be no Irish state if it was not for Douglas Hyde and the like-minded people he inspired. We celebrate him not for what he was, but for what he is.

He is still an exemplar to us all. He is a man of ideas and of idealism: a quiet man, a scholar, a writer, a professor, a poet, a president for all the people. He did not see Ireland as merely an economy, as ‘an island’, as the current fashion has it. There is no reason to give any emotional allegiance to ‘this island’ than there is to any other sod of turf. His famous phrase which sought to make ‘the present a rational continuation of the past’ is still one of the most radical statements that have been made in modern times. It is no less relevant.

This year’s conference seeks to examine the role of the arts and of liberal ideas in the creation and maintenance of modern Ireland and our collective responsibility to sustain that role. It features talks, lectures and readings which celebrate his legacy and strengthens his vision in a modern context. It continues the debate which he began, a debate which is central to all aspects of Irish life and culture.

Comhdháil an Chraoibhín, was founded in 1988 to celebrate the life, interests and legacy of Ireland’s first President and Roscommon’s most famous son, Dr. Douglas Hyde. During the conference we concentrate on Hyde’s recognition of the Irish language as a living language expressed through literature and folklore and seek to promote the practice and appreciation of contemporary Irish language in a wider context involving literature, music, heritage and cultural identity.

Today many government and education bodies, the Arts Council and Local Authorities share in this duty from an understanding that a rich and vibrant culture benefits all aspects of society economically, socially and culturally. The conference will examine the collective responsibility of both promoting and developing the Irish language and ask to what extent creative writing contributes to a vibrant minority language.

Throughout the weekend adjoining the main auditorium, there will be a series of exhibition stands presented by national organisations from the areas of Irish Language, Arts, Heritage and Literature where delegates will have the opportunity to speak with representatives of those organisations