Daniel Corkery ( ga, Dónall Ó Corcora; 14 February 1878 – 31 December 1964) 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 ...

politician, writer and academic. He is known as the author of ''The Hidden Ireland'', a 1924 study of the poetry of eighteenth-century

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 ...

poets in Munster.

Academic career

Corkery was born in the city of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and educated at Presentation Brothers College before training as a teacher at

St Patrick's College, Dublin St Patrick's College ( ga, Coláiste Phádraig), often known as St Pat's, was a third level institution in Ireland, the leading function of which was as the country's largest primary teacher training college, which had at one time up to 2,000 s ...

. He taught at Saint Patrick’s School in Cork, but resigned from there in 1921 when he was refused the headmastership. Among his students there were writer

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on a ...

and sculptor

Seamus Murphy Seamus Murphy, (15 July 1907 – 2 October 1975) was an Irish sculptor and stone carver, best known for designing the Church of the Annunciation, Blackpool, Cork. Examples of his unique carvings of statues, gravestones, monuments and plaques ca ...

. After leaving St. Patrick's, Corkery taught art for the local technical education committee, before becoming

inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

of Irish in 1925 and Professor of English at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

in 1930. Among his students in UCC were

Seán Ó Faoláin Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin (27 February 1900 – 20 April 1991) was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Irish culture. A short-story writer of international repute, he was also a leading commentator and critic. Biography Ó ...

and Seán Ó Tuama. Corkery was often a controversial figure in academia for his 'nativist' views on Irish literature. His views sometimes resulted in conflict with scholars of the

, including

Pádraig de Brún Pádraig de Brún (13 October 1889 – 5 June 1960), also called Patrick Joseph Monsignor Browne, was an Irish clergyman, mathematician, poet, and classical scholar, who served as President of University College, Galway (UCG). He was also known ...

and de Brún's niece

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 ...

. Ó Tuama, however, was a frequent defender of Corkery's reputation. In his late twenties, he learnt Irish and this brought him into contact with members of the Irish language revival movement, including

Terence MacSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ga, Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He ...

, T. C. Murray and Con O'Leary, with whom he founded the Cork Dramatic Society in 1908. His plays ''Embers'' and ''The Hermit and the King'' were performed by the society. Later plays were staged at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

, including ''The Labour Leader'' (1919) and ''The Yellow Bittern'' (1920). He also wrote short stories, including the collections ''A Munster Twilight'' (1916), ''The Hounds of Banba'' (1920), ''The Stormy Hills'' (1929), ''Earth Out of Earth'' (1939), ''The Wager, and other stories'' (1950), and a novel, ''The Threshold of Quiet'' (1917). His non-fiction included ''The Hidden Ireland'' (1924), a work about the riches of eighteenth-century Irish poetry. In this he attempted to reconstruct a worldview preserved by Gaelic poets amongst the poor and oppressed Catholic peasantry of the Penal Laws era, virtually invisible in the Anglo-Irish tradition that had dominated the writing of Irish history. "An instant, influential classic", wrote Patrick Walsh, "its version of the past provided powerful cultural underpinning to the traditional nationalist history that became, in the 1930s, the educational orthodoxy of the new state". Corkery lived on Gardiners Hill in Cork and in 1931 was elected president of his local GAA club,

Brian Dillons Brian Dillons is one of the oldest Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in Cork city in Ireland. It is named after the Irish Fenian, Brian Dillon and its original clubhouse ("the Hole in the Wall") was less than 100 metres from Dillon's home (in ...

. Corkery's papers are held in the Boole Library of

Political career

He was a member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

for

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

from 1951 to 1954 when he was

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

General

Every year, in the third week of July, the Daniel Corkery Summer School is held in the village of

Inchigeelagh Inchigeelagh () is a small village, townland and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland. The village is just outside a Gaeltacht area. Inchigeelagh is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-West. The River Lee passes through the village. T ...

, County Cork. Activities include landscape painting, Irish translation, choral singing, lectures, sessions, and concerts.

Works

* ''A Munster Twilight'', Talbot Press, Dublin, 1917. * ''The Threshold of Quiet'', Talbot Press, Dublin; T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1917. * ''The Labour Leader'', Talbot Press, Dublin; T.Fisher Unwin, London, 1920 * ''The Yellow Bittern, and other plays'', Talbot Press: Dublin; T. Fisher Unwin: London, 1920. * ''The Hounds of Banba'', Talbot Press, Dublin, T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1921. * ''I Bhreasail. A book of lyrics'', Elkin Mathews, London, 1921. * ''The Hidden Ireland'', M. H. Gill & Son, Dublin, 1924. * ''The Stormy Hills'', Jonathan Cape: London (printed Dublin), 1929. * ''Synge and Anglo-Irish Literature: A study'', Cork University Press, 1931. * ''Earth out of Earth'', Talbot Press, Dublin & Cork, 1939. * ''Resurrection'', Talbot Press: Dublin, 1942. * ''What's this about the Gaelic League?'', Conradh na Gaeilge, Dublin, 1942. * ''The Wager, and other stories'', illustrated by

Elizabeth Rivers Elizabeth Joyce Rivers (5 August 1903 – 20 July 1964) was an Irish-based painter, engraver, illustrator and author. Life Born in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire in England on 5 August 1903, she was a member of the family of Thomas Rivers (nurs ...

Devin-Adair The Devin-Adair Publishing Company (1911–1981) was an American conservative publishing house. History Henry Garrity created the publishing house in 1911 in New York City. His son Devin Garrity inherited it in 1939. It moved from New York C ...

, New York, 1950. * ''The Fortunes of the Irish Language'', C. J. Fallon, Dublin, 1954.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Daniel Corkery's paper - UCC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corkery, Daniel 1878 births 1964 deaths Abbey Theatre Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Art educators Fianna Fáil senators Irish male short story writers 20th-century Irish short story writers Irish schoolteachers Members of the 7th Seanad Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Writers from Cork (city) People associated with University College Cork People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork 20th-century Irish male writers