 Ó Tuama, however, was a frequent defender of Corkery's reputation.In his late twenties he learnt Irish and this brought him into contact with leading members of the Irish language revival movement, including Terence MacSwiney, T. C. Murray and Con O'Leary, with whom he founded the Cork Dramatic Society in 1908.His plays "Embers" and "The Hermit and the King" were performed by the society.