I do not share the wish to see my language dead and decently buried.

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.

In order to de-Anglicize ourselves, we must at once arrest the decay of the language. We must teach ourselves not to be ashamed of ourselves.

Now if we allow our living language to die out, it is almost a certainty that we condemn our literary records to remain in obscurity.

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.

It is my last wish to be buried sitting up.