Gearóid Ó Cairealláin (October 1957 – 20 December 2024) was an Irish activist of the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

who was credited with playing a huge role in promoting the Irish language in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, especially in Belfast West.

Biography

Ó Cairealláin was born in October 1957. He hailed from Belfast West, where he attended St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast. It was there that he became interested in the Irish language. After leaving school, he worked in various clerical positions but became more active in several Irish language organisations. He founded the weekly publication ''Preas an Phobail'', which evolved into the Irish language daily newspaper

Lá ''Lá'' ( Irish for "Day"; later known as ''Lá Nua'', Irish for "New Day") was an Irish-language daily newspaper based in Belfast. It was the first daily newspaper in Ireland to be published in Irish. ''Lá Nua'' belonged to the Belfast Media ...

in 1984. He was a founding member of ''Aisling Ghéar'' - the Irish-language theatre group, Raidió Fáilte - the Irish-language radio station, and Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich - the Irish language cultural centre on the

Falls Road, Belfast The Falls Road () is the main road through West Belfast, Northern Ireland, running from Divis Street in Belfast City Centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. The name has been synonymous for at least a century and a half with the Catholic comm ...

. He helped establish Meánscoil Feirste which became Coláiste Feirste, the only secondary-level Irish-medium school in Belfast. From 1995 to 1998, he was president of the Irish language advocacy group

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

. In 2006, he suffered a stroke which left him paralysed from the waist down but he continued to advocate for the Irish language. Ó Cairealláin was also a successful musician. He was the father of Naoise Ó‌ Cairealláin aka Móglaí Bap, a member of the

Kneecap The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

band. Ó Cairealláin was married to Bríd Ó Gallchoir and had three children. He died at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on 20 December 2024, at the age of 67.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:O Caireallain, Gearoid 1957 births 2024 deaths People educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast 20th-century writers from Northern Ireland 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland Irish language activists Irish-language writers Writers from Belfast Activists from Belfast Conradh na Gaeilge presidents