Caitlín Maude (22 May 1941 – 6 June 1982) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

poet, activist, teacher, actress and traditional singer.

Early life

She was born in

Casla Casla (Costello or Costelloe) is a Gaeltacht village between Indreabhán (Inverin) and An Cheathrú Rua (Carraroe) in western County Galway, Ireland. The headquarters of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta is located there. The village lies on the R3 ...

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

, and reared in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. Her mother, Máire Nic an Iomaire, was a school teacher from Ballyfinglas, and Caitlín received her primary education from her on a small island off the coast of

Rosmuc Rosmuc or Ros Muc, sometimes anglicised as Rosmuck, is a village in the Conamara Gaeltacht of County Galway, Ireland. It lies halfway between the town of Clifden and the city of Galway. Irish is the predominant spoken language in the area, wit ...

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

. Caitlín's father, John Maude, was from Cill Bhriocáin in Rosmuc. Caitlín Maude attended

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, where she excelled in French. She became a teacher, working in schools in Counties

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

, and

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

. She also worked in other capacities in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Career

She was widely known as an actor. She acted at the University, at An Taibhdhearc in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

and the Damer Theatre in Dublin, and was particularly successful in a production of ''

An Triail ''An Triail'' (; "The Trial") is a play written by the Irish playwright Máiréad Ní Ghráda. It starred poet and sean-nós singer Caitlín Maude in its first performance in 1964 at the Damer Theatre. Fionnula Flanagan took over the lead role ...

'' by

Máiréad Ní Ghráda Máiréad Ní Ghráda (23 December 1896 – 13 June 1971) was an Irish poet, playwright, and Radio personality, broadcaster born in Kilmaley, County Clare. Biography Ní Ghráda's mother was Bridget Ní Ghrianna while her father, Tony Kelly ...

at the Damer Theatre in 1964, in which she played the protagonist of the story, Máire Ní Chathasaigh. She herself was a playwright and co-authored ''An Lasair Choille'' with poet

Michael Hartnett Michael Hartnett ( ga, Mícheál Ó hAirtnéide) (18 September 1941 – 13 October 1999) was an Irish poet who wrote in both English and Irish. He was one of the most significant voices in late 20th-century Irish writing and has been called " Mu ...

. She began writing poetry in Irish in secondary school and developed a lyrical style closely attuned to the rhythms of the voice. Though not conventionally religious, she said in an interview that she had a deep interest in the spiritual and that this would leave its mark on her poetry. She was noted as a highly effective reciter of her own verse. ''Géibheann'' is the best-known of her poems, and is studied at Leaving Certificate Higher Level Irish in the Republic of Ireland. A posthumous collected edition, ''Caitlín Maude, Dánta'', was published in 1984, ''Caitlín Maude: file'' in 1985 in Ireland and Italy, and ''Coiscéim'' in 1985. As a member of the Dublin

-speaking community she was active in many campaigns, including the establishment of the

Gaelscoil A Gaelscoil (; plural: ''Gaelscoileanna'') is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary an ...

(Irish-medium primary school) Scoil Santain in

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. She was a sean-nós singer of distinction. She made one album in this genre, ''Caitlín'' (released in 1975 on

Gael Linn Gael Linn (, "Gael-with-us") is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation focused on the promotion of the Irish language and the arts. The organisation's funding includes government and lottery sources. History Gael Linn was founded in Ma ...

Records), now available as a CD. It contains both traditional songs and a selection of her poetry.

Personal life

She married Cathal Ó Luain in 1969. They had one child Caomhán, their son.

Death

She died of complications from cancer in 1982 aged 41, and is buried in Bohernabreena graveyard overlooking the city on the Dublin Mountains. In 2001, a new writers' centre in Galway was named after her: Ionad Schribhneoiri Chaitlin Maude, Gaillimh

References

Sources

* Ó Coigligh, Ciarán (ed.) (1984). ''Caitlín Maude: dánta''.

Coiscéim Coiscéim (; "Footstep") is a prolific Dublin-based Irish-language publisher founded by writer, historian and language activist Pádraig Ó Snodaigh in 1980. With over 1,500 titles Coiscéim have published the largest number of titles amongst the 2 ...

. * ''Caitlín Maude - Caitlín'' D Ref: CEFCD042

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maude, Caitlin 1941 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Irish actresses 20th-century Irish-language poets 20th-century Irish women singers 20th-century Irish women writers Actresses from County Galway Alumni of the University of Galway Irish-language writers Irish schoolteachers Irish stage actresses Irish women poets Musicians from County Galway Sean-nós singers