Douglas Hyde — Irish Politician born on January 17, 1860, died on July 12, 1949

Douglas Hyde, known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn, was an Irish scholar of the Irish language who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945. He was a leading figure in the Gaelic revival, and first president of the Gaelic League, one of the most influential cultural organisations in Ireland at the time... (wikipedia)

I do not share the wish to see my language dead and decently buried.
It is a most disgraceful shame the way in which Irishmen are brought up. They are ashamed of their language, institutions, and of everything Irish.
Every crag and gnarled tree and lonely valley has its own strange and graceful legend attached to it.
As our language wanes and dies, the golden legends of the far-off centuries fade and pass away. No one sees their influence upon culture; no one sees their educational power.
I - and there are hundreds of thousands of Irishmen who felt on this subject as I do - have always liked my Celtic countrymen and disliked the English nation; it is a national trait of character, and I cannot help it.