Douglas Hyde, Dúbhglas de h-Íde, An Craoibhín Aoibhinn, who was born on 17 January 1860 and died on 12 July 1949, was founding president of the Gaelic League (1893–1915), first professor of Modern Irish in University College Dublin (1909–32) and first president of an independent Irish state (1938–45). His inner thoughts and ideas, his linguistic development, and his coming of age in Co. Roscommon can be seen in his own words in 13 diaries which are housed in the National Library of Ireland. Hyde was an adolescent of 14 years when he embarked upon his remarkable linguistic journey. This essay examines Douglas Hyde's first diary (NLI MS G 1036), which he began writing on 9 March 1874 and which ended on 31 December 1876.

Douglas Hyde's interests in these formative years are addressed within this essay. Although his psychological and moral growth is not significantly evident in his first diary, the immense importance of language to the young Hyde is clear from the start. This diary, being the first in the collection, is the budding flower in regard to his initial acquisition of Irish. Douglas Hyde consciously acquired the Irish language in his teens by mixing with the local inhabitants of Roscommon. His interests in hunting and travel, clearly evident from his entries, are examined here. Hyde's passion for languages, especially Irish, French and Greek, and his journey towards the acquisition of the Irish language are explored. The authors will review his penmanship, including his phonetic approach to the spelling of Irish, as well as the connection between oral language acquisition and the written word. This essay highlights the complex nature of the beginning of Hyde's journey on the road of linguistic, literary and cultural nationalism.

Egodocuments

Douglas Hyde's diaries can be classified as egodocuments. The strength of his diary writing in comparison to works published by Hyde, is that the reader gets, in varying degrees, an insight into the life that Douglas Hyde spent as a youth in Co. Roscommon. The reader must always be discerning when reading diaries, as they are a reflection of the writer's personality.