David Comyn (in Irish, Dáithí Coimín or Dáithí Ó Coimín) (1854–1907) was an Irish language revivalist from

Kilrush Kilrush () is a coastal town in County Clare, Ireland. It is also the name of a civil parish and an ecclesiastical parish in Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. It is located near the mouth of the River Shannon in the south-west of the county. ...

parish in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

. He is best known as co-founder of the

Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language (SPIL; ga, Cumann Buan-Choimeádta na Gaeilge) was a cultural organisation in late 19th-century Ireland, which was part of the Gaelic revival of the period. It was founded on 29 December 187 ...

(SPIL) and as editor of the

Gaelic Journal The ''Gaelic Journal'' ( ga, Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge) was a periodical publication "exclusively devoted to the preservation and cultivation of the Irish Language". According to Tomas O Flannghaile it was "the first journal devoted to the living ...

Biography

David Comyn, son of John Comyn and Keat Hassett, was baptised in Kilrush parish on 14 May 1854. He moved to

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 ...

to work as a bank clerk in the National Bank (on whose banknotes his signature eventually appeared). He threw in all his energies in support of the movement, started in the 1870s, to preserve the Irish language. From that time to his death, in 1907, he laboured zealously in its behalf, in the Gaelic Union and other kindred bodies. He was a Member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

, first editor of the

, and edited and annotated portion of

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and a ...

's History of Ireland, for the

Irish Texts Society The Irish Texts Society ( ga, Cumann na Scríbheann nGaedhilge) was founded in 1898 to promote the study of Irish literature. It is a text publication society, issuing annotated editions of texts in Irish with English translations and related co ...

of London. He left his books and manuscripts as a gift to the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...

. By 1901, he was living at 43 Brighton Square in Rathmines. He died (from cirrhosis of the liver) on 22 January 1907 at his home at 43 Brighton Square in Dublin and was buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

. He left an estate of £4,464 12s. 9d.Calendar of Wills and Administrations 1907.
/ref> Gaelscoil Uí Choimín in his native parish is named in his honour.

References

External links

COIMÍN, Dáithí (1854–1907)
le Diarmuid Breathnach agus Máire Ní Mhurchú
Comyn, David
by Paul Rouse, in Dictionary of Irish Biography *"David Comyn" by Br. Seán McNamara, reproduced from the Clare County Express in th
Clare Association Yearbook 1993
(p. 61).
Dáithí Coimín agus Aontacht na Gaeilge
le Breandán Ó Conaire in Studia Hibernica No. 29 (1995–1997), pp. 117–156. *Dáithí Ó Coimín agus bunú Irisleabhar na Gaeilge
Cuid a h-aon
agu
Cuid a dó
le Breandán Ó Conaire i gComhar, Iml. 39, Uimh 4 (Apr., 1980), pp. 10–15 agus Uimh 5 (May, 1980), pp. 21–26. *Location of Irish Scholar's House, ''Clare Champion'', 18 June 1993, p. 10 *Geoffrey Keating ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn: the history of Ireland'' D. Comyn and PS Dineen (eds.) 4 vols. Irish Texts Society (London 1902–14). (Available for download: https://archive.org/details/forasfeasaarir06keatuoft) {{DEFAULTSORT:Comyn, David 1854 births 1907 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from County Clare