Éilís Ní Bhrádaigh (1 April 1927 17 May 2007), writer and lexicographer was involved in the creation of three major Irish-language dictionaries.

Biography

Éilís Ní Bhrádaigh was born Alice Brady to Francis Brady and Elena Nolan in

Fairview, Dublin Fairview () is an inner coastal suburb of Dublin in Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council and in the city's D03 postal district. Part of the area forms Fairview Park, a recreational amenity laid-out on land reclaimed from the sea ...

, on 1 April 1927. She was one of four, with a brother Christy, and two sisters, Áine and Margaret. Her father was involved in 1916 Easter Rising and her uncle Christopher printed the

Proclamation of the Irish Republic A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

. Ní Bhrádaigh got her education, first in St. Mary's School,

Marlborough Street, Dublin Marlborough Street is a street in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. Naming The street was named Great Marlborough Street after the 1st Duke of Marlborough, known for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim during the 18th century. In the late ...

near where the family lived before they moved to

Cabra, Dublin Cabra () is an inner suburb on the northside of Dublin city in Ireland. It is approximately northwest of the city centre, in the administrative area of Dublin City Council. It was commonly known as Cabragh until the early 20th century. Larg ...

. She then attended St Louis High School, Rathmines. After winning the Coiste na bPáistí Gaeltacht Scholarship Ní Bhrádaigh spent time in Connemara, Co. Galway to study Irish. Ní Bhrádaigh went on to join the civil service where she got a position in the dictionary section in 1945. There Ní Bhrádaigh worked with Tomás de Bhaldraithe and became friends with him and his wife Vivienne. Through her work on the dictionary Ní Bhrádaigh met a significant number of the pivotal people in the Irish language including

Máire Mhac an tSaoi Máire Mhac an tSaoi (4 April 1922 – 16 October 2021) was an Irish civil service official, writer of Modernist poetry in the Corca Dhuibhne dialect of Munster Irish, a writer, and highly important figure within Modern literature in Irish. Alo ...

, Séamus Ó Saothraí, Seán an Cóta Caomhánach, Pádraig Ua Maoileoin and others. Ní Bhrádaigh worked on the street games of Cabra and a book was published on the subject in 1975 by the

Irish Folklore Commission The Irish Folklore Commission (''Coimisiún Béaloideasa Éireann'' in Irish) was set up in 1935 by the Irish Government to study and collect information on the folklore and traditions of Ireland. History Séamus Ó Duilearga (James Hamilton Dela ...

. She collected the speech and words of Dublin city and donated her collection to the Department of Irish Folklore at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. Her intention had been to publish the collection in a book. She died on 17 May 2007. Ní Bhrádaigh was a member of the Old Dublin Society and treasurer of the Merriman society.

Bibliography

* English-Irish dictionary (1959) * English-Irish Dictionary (1977) * Foclóir na Nua-Ghaeilge ' (Royal Irish Academy) * Foclóir Póca (1986) * All in, all in: A selection of Dublin Children's traditional Street Games with Rhymes and Music (1975)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Bhradaigh, Eilís 1927 births 2007 deaths Irish lexicographers Writers from Dublin (city)