Flann Ó Riain (18 September 1929 – 6 December 2008) was an Irish cartoonist, writer and Irish

language activist Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, o ...

. He was born on 18 September 1929 in

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

, County Dublin. He was primarily known for his work as a political cartoonist with the

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

. Using the nom de plume, ''"Doll"'', he had a regular appearance in the newspaper where he created satirical cartoons. He was also known as creator of the 1960s Irish language television series

Dáithí Lacha ''Dáithí Lacha'' (; meaning "David Duck") was an Irish language television cartoon series for children broadcast on RTÉ during the 1960s. The series was not animated, however. For each five-minute episode, the creator, illustrator, and camera o ...

, and ''"Rí Rá agus Ruaille Buaille"''

Early life

Ó Riain was born in Lucan, Dublin to Edmund and Nora Ryan. His father, a member of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

, took a posting in Arranmore, County Donegal in order to foster his son's interest in the Irish language. From there, he attended numerous

national schools In Ireland, a national school () is a type of primary school that is financed directly by the state, but typically administered jointly by the state, a patron body, and local representatives. In national schools, most major policies, such as the ...

throughout the country. From school, he attended St Patrick's College, Dublin graduating as a primary school teacher. In 1977, he was imprisoned in Mountjoy Prison having been fined for refusing to pay his

television license A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence f ...

in a protest to what he saw as

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

's neglect of the Irish language. He was subsequently released after the fine was paid anonymously. He also was a writer of books on history and language.

Books

* ''Dáithí Lacha'' - (1965) * ''Dáithí Lacha '67'' - (1967) * ''I gComhar le Doll'' - (1970) * ''Euphoria is a lovely word'' - (1972) * ''Suas agus Siós: Sórt Scéil'' - (1976) * ''Lazy Way to Irish'' - (1995) * ''Lazy Way to Welsh'' - (1995) * ''Scéal An "Union Paddy"'' - (1995) * ''Townlands of Leinster and the People Who Lived There'' - (2000) * ''Duanairí 1'', illustrator - (1974) * ''Lazy Way to Gaelic'', illustrator - (1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riain, Flann Ó 1929 births 2009 deaths Irish editorial cartoonists Irish nationalists Writers from County Dublin 20th-century Irish writers Irish-language writers