In a word ... President

It was hardly our first president's fault that he died on July 12th. That was in 1949, almost 70 years ago, when Douglas Hyde was 89.

Growing up in north Roscommon I was fiercely proud that Ireland’s first president came from and was educated (at home) in my part of the world. And that it was from our people he learned his Irish as well as collecting much of the material that featured in his early writings.

In fact it is said that recordings of him are the only extant examples of Irish as spoken in the Roscommon dialect. Irish was spoken in our part of the world well into the late 19th century. There san gleann inár togadh sé.

There among people described in a biography of Hyde’s as “so many pleasant if potential murderers”. My delightful ancestors!

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Hyde once caused me to be thrown off a course at RTÉ. I should have known better. But I was bored. In dim youth I applied for everything in an attempt to become a reporter. One such included a presenting job at RTÉ. Then, as now, the broadcaster had no money, and as soon as some of us were shortlisted, we were told "no jobs" but that we could still take the course.

Regional accents

There was an argument raging at the time about the use of regional accents on RTÉ. I was very much in favour, but the woman in charge of our course was not. She favoured the standard “are-TE” accent.

I argued, as a compromise, that if there was to be a standard accent on RTÉ it ought to be the Ballaghaderreen one. My argument was impeccable: I pointed out that the BBC “Oxford accent” had been a regional one too until the influence of the university there spread throughout English society.

And what more worthy regional accent was there in Ireland than that of Douglas Hyde, he who had created an Irish national identity, which in turn led to the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence, the creation of this State and of Radio Éireann itself – before he became Ireland's first president.

Such wonderful logic was lost on the woman in charge at “areTE”. She threw me off the course with just two weeks to go. I remain grateful.

President, from Latin praesidentum, and praesidere – "to act as head or chief'

inaword@irishtimes.com