It was the era of the so-called Celtic Dawn. An Irish literary renaissance, spearheaded by Protestant intellectuals like Yeats, Synge, and Lady Gregory, centred on the Abbey Theatre. Another Protestant, Douglas Hyde, founded the Gaelic League, which generated widespread enthusiasm for the idea of restoring the Irish language. The Gaelic Athletic Association, founded by a Catholic, Michael Cusack, attracted even more widespread support for the ancient Irish sport of hurling, and for a hybrid version of rugby and soccer, Gaelic football, which also gave rise to Australian Rules ‘footie’.
