Micheail
When he gave his name to the Black and Tans in Irish, was he doing it as an act of defiance?
sharewell, no and yes, many people down the country at that time still spoke gaeilge and so i think it was perfectly natural. theres numerous occasions in the film when u hear them speaking gaeilge. the movie was trying to show that. i think it also shows how annoyed the english get when they hear it. particularly the scene where they're all locked up and start singing amhrán na bhfiann, that bugs the hell out of the guards and is a really irish thing to do! u can see how angry the english get screaming at them 'shut the hell up you fenian bastards!'
Y'know, kid... you got a helluva knack for killin' a conversation
Yes it was defiance,,, he also responds (in Irish) that it doesn't matter whether it is in Irish or English it is still HIS name.
I see the captain of one of the University boats was Deaglan MacEachearn in last Saturday's boat race, and the BBC never once asked him to translate it into English. That is progress.
The Pooka