Diarmaid Ó Súilleabháin (1932 – 1985) was an

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 ...

writer whose chosen theme was contemporary urban life. He is acknowledged as an important Irish language modernist. He was also active in the Irish republican movement and a member of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

Personal life

Ó Súilleabháin was born at the

Beara Peninsula Beara ( ga, Béarra) or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down it ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

. His mother was a primary school teacher and his father a small farmer. He married Úna Ní Chléirigh in 1954, and they had two sons and three daughters. He died on 5 June 1985.

Career

He settled in

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is beside the main M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the railway network along the same route. Local newspapers include the ''Gorey Guardian''. As a growi ...

and worked there as a primary teacher for the Christian Brothers school. He is best known now for his literary work. He wrote ten novels, two of them for teenagers. ''Maeldún'' was a pioneering Irish novel that explored sexuality. He wrote seven unpublished plays. Three plays that he wrote include ''Bior'', ''Ontos'', and ''Macalla'' and he wrote a collection of short stories, ''Muintir''. A story from ''Muintir'' called 'D' was translated into English and adapted for the stage by Vivian McAlister and was performed by Dublin University Players in May 1977. Like

Eoghan Ó Tuairisc Eoghan Ó Tuairisc (''Eugene Rutherford Watters'') (3 April 1919 – 24 August 1982) was an Irish poet and writer. Life Eugene Rutherford Watters was born at Dunlo Hill, Ballinasloe, County Galway, to Thomas Watters, a soldier, and his wife, Ma ...

, he "challenged the critical orthodoxy by openly proclaiming that their standards could not be those of the

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

and by demanding a creative freedom that would acknowledge hybridity and reject the strictures of the linguistic purists." He and

Máirtín Ó Cadhain Máirtín Ó Cadhain (; 1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel ''Cré na Cille'', Ó Cadhain played a key role in reintroducing literary mod ...

were considered the two most innovative Irish language authors to emerge in the 1960s. He often wrote in a stream of consciousness, and his style influenced younger writers. His writing "explores the problem of recovering idealism and cultural wholeness in an increasingly shallow and materialistic Irish society." Ó Súilleabháin was elected as a member of the

Irish Academy of Letters 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 ...

and won more literary prizes than any other living Irish author. He wrote a collection of poetry, ''Cosa Gréine'', which was published and launched in Dublin in 2013, 28 years after his death.

Irish republicanism

Ó Súilleabháin was an active Irish republican, particularly in publicizing the republican struggle, and was a member of Sinn Féin's ruling body beginning in 1971. He spent short periods in prison because of activities related to his political beliefs.

Works

* ''Súil le Muir'', Cló Mórainn, 1959 (for teenagers) * ''Trá agus tuileadh'', Sáirséal agus Dill, 1967 (for teenagers) * ''Caoin tú féin'', Sáirseál agus Dill, 1967 * ''An Uain Bheo'', Sáirséal agus Dill, 1968 * ''Muintir'', Sáirséal agus Dill, 1970 (short stories) * ''Maeldún'', Sáirséal agus Dill, 1972 * ''Dianmhuilte Dé'', Sáirseál agus Dill, 1964 * ''Ciontach'',

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 ...

1983 * ''Aistear'', Coiscéim, 1983 * ''Bealach Bó Finne'', Coiscéim, 1988 * ''Lá Breá Gréine Buí'' and ''Oighear Geimhridh'', Coiscéim 1994

Personal life

Career

Irish republicanism

Works

References

Further reading