Annraoí Ó Liatháin (15 October 1917 - 1981) was an Irish writer and film narrator.

Early life

Born in

Portumna Portumna ( - meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with and linked by a bridge to County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shanno ...

Co. Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

to Michael Lyons and Annie McKee. His family moved to Waterford when he was a child, and he attended

Primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

there. On graduating, he spent five years as a novice with the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Irela ...

Tullow Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673. History There is a statue ...

Co. Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

, and in

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

Career

Having left the seminary, he entered the

Irish Civil Service The Civil Service ( ga, An Státseirbhís) of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the departments of state and certain state agencies who advise and work for the Government of Ireland. It consists of two broad components, t ...

in 1936. After a period of time working at the Property Valuation Office, he moved into the dictionary team at the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(An Roinn Oideachais). During his career as a writer, he wrote exclusively in his native

Irish language Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...

. He produced a number of novels aimed at teenagers, as well as collaborated on a number of books on the natural world. He was also president of

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it em ...

from 1952-1955.

Personal life

Ó Liatháin married Margaret Fox of

Ballymote Ballymote () is a market town in southern County Sligo, approx. 24 km south east of Sligo town in the province of Connacht, which is located in the north-west of Ireland. Ballymote lies in the barony of Corran. A commuter town with a ...

Co. Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local a ...

in 1949, and they went on to have eight children.

Bibliography

* ''Claíomh an Díoltais'' * ''Cois Móire'' * ''Laochra na Machairí'' * ''An Tíogar Daonna'' * ''Nead na gCreabhar'' * ''Luaithreach an Bhua'' * ''Dún na Cinniúna'' * ''Cois tSiúire'' * ''Buíon Éireannach in Albain'' * ''An Bradán agus Iascaireacht an Bhradáin'' (Sáirséal agus Dill, 1970)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liatháin, Annraoí Ó 1917 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Irish people Irish-language writers People from Portumna