 He was a founding member of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language (Cumann Buan-Choimeadia Na Gaeilge) in 1876, serving as its first chairman.He later seceded from the society with its original founders, and in March 1880, established the Gaelic Union, along with David Comyn (1854–1907) of the "Gaelic Journal".The Union, a society established for the cultivation and preservation of the Irish Language, later developed into the Gaelic League.