Breandán Ó Madagáin (1932 – 9 January 2020) was an Irish scholar, writer and

celticist Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history ...

. He was Professor Emeritus and past Chair of Department of Irish,

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

, a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

, and was Chairman, 1995–2005, of the Board of Celtic Studies in the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

. Breandán Ó Madagáin was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. His main contributions to Irish scholarship related to the history of

sean-nós singing singing ( , ; Irish language, Irish for 'old style') is A cappella, unaccompanied, Irish traditional music, traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. singing usually involves very long melodic Phrase (music), phr ...

. He inaugurated courses in the history of Irish song at University College Galway, unique in their kind. He is well known for the thesis that the bulk of Irish Bardic Poetry was sung, and that many of the original melodies have been passed down through the oral tradition, although not always with their original lyrics.

Bibliography

*''Caointe Agus Seancheolta Eile'', or ''Keening and other Old Irish Musics'', Cló Iar-Chonnachta, Indreabhan, Ireland, 2005 *''An Ghaeilge i Luimneach 1700-1800'' *''Functions of Irish Folk Song in the Nineteenth Century'' in: ''Béaloideas'' 1985. Galway: University College Galway. 130-216 * "Irish Vocal Music of Lament and Syllabic Verse" * "Echoes of Magic in the Gaelic Song Tradition" * ''Languages and Celtic Peoples'' (Nova Scotia, Canada: St. Mary's University, 1992)

References

External links

* http://www.irishharpschool.com/breandan.htm * https://www.ria.ie/breandan-o-madagain 1932 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Irish writers Academics of the University of Galway Writers from Limerick (city) Celtic studies scholars Irish-language writers {{Ireland-academic-bio-stub Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies