Máirtín Ó Direáin (; 29 November 1910 – 19 March 1988) 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 ...

poet from the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...

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 recog ...

. Along with

Seán Ó Ríordáin Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin (3 December 1916 – 21 February 1977), sometimes referred to as an Ríordánach, was an Irish language poet and later a newspaper columnist. He is credited with introducing European themes to Irish poetry, and is wi ...

and

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 Direáin was, in the words of Louis de Paor, "one of a trinity of poets who revolutionised Irish language poetry in the 1940s and 50s."

Biography

Ó Direáin was born in Sruthán on Inis Mór in the

and was educated at Onaght national school. The son of a small farmer, Máirtín Ó Direáin grew up as a

monoglot Monoglottism (Greek μόνος ''monos'', "alone, solitary", + γλῶττα , "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism, is the condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism. ...

and spoke only

Connacht Irish Connacht Irish () is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Connacht. Gaeltacht regions in Connacht are found in Counties Mayo (notably Tourmakeady, Achill Island and Erris) and Galway (notably in parts of Connemara and on ...

until his mid-teens. Like many other Irish poets and writers of the post-Independence era, Ó Direáin worked in the

Irish civil service The Civil Service ( ga, An Státseirbhís) of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the departments of state and certain state agencies who advise and work for the Government of Ireland. It consists of two broad components, t ...

from 1928 until 1975. In 1952, he translated a play by Irish playwright

Teresa Deevy Teresa Deevy (21 January 1894 – 19 January 1963) was an Irish dramatist and writer, who was deaf from the age of 19. Best known for her works for theatre, she was also a short story writer, and writer for radio. Early life Teresa Deevy w ...

for

Radio Eireann Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

; the play was called ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (translated as ''Iníon Rí na Spáinne''). His literary awards include the An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council Awards (1964 and 1971); the Butler Prize, with

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 ...

(1967); the Ossian Prize for Poetry, FVS Foundation, Hamburg (1977). He was a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

. While Ó Direáin was rooted deeply in the Gaelic tradition, his poetry also shows influence from wider European writers. His influences included

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, Prose poetry, prose poet, cultural critic, Philology, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philo ...

Spengler Spengler is a German-language occupational surname, literally meaning " metal worker" or " tin knocker". It may refer to: * Alexander Spengler (1827–1901), the first Davos doctor specializing in tuberculosis * Bruno Spengler (born 1983), a Cana ...

Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish litera ...

, Haicéad, Ó Bruadair, Bedell and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Legacy

''Carraig agus cathair: Ó Direáin'' is a recent (2002) biography. Its title ('Rock and City') refers to Ó Direáin's journey from his native rocky island 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 ...

, where he lived most of his life.

An Charraig Stoite An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...

(The Uprooted Rock) is a 2003 award-nominated

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

Bord Scannán na hÉireann Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board, is the Republic of Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. It provides funds for the developm ...

funded documentary on Máirtín Ó Direáin which was written by

Alan Titley Alan Titley (born 28 June 1947, ) is an Irish-language novelist, translator, playwright and professor. He also wrote columns under the name Crobhingne. Early life Titley was born in Cork and educated at Coláiste Chríost Rí, St. Patrick's Co ...

and produced and directed by Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín. On 27 May 2010,

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...

(the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

) issued a single stamp to commemorate the birth centenary of Máirtín Ó Direáin featuring a portrait of the poet.

Legacy in Irish traditional music

Six of Ó Direáin's poems have been put to music by

Irish traditional music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

ian

Colm Ó Snodaigh Colm Ó Snodaigh (born 22 May 1966) is a member of the traditional Irish folk group Kíla. He is also a writer and a former sportsman, winning honours in football, hurling and tennis. Personal life Ó Snodaigh was born in Dublin and reared o ...

of the music group

Kíla Kíla is a 1987 Irish folk music/world music group from the Gaelscoil, Irish language secondary school, Coláiste Eoin, Coláiste Eóin in County Dublin. Band History Kíla began in 1987 in the secondary in Coláiste Eoin, in the first year they ...

: '' Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa'', ''Maith Dhom'', ''Bua na Mara'', ''Dínit an Bhróin'', ''"An tEarrach Thiar"'' and ''Bí i do Chrann''. The first three were recorded on '' Handel's Fantasy'', ''Luna Park'' (two Kíla albums) and ''

Giving Giving may refer to: * Gift, the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return * Generosity, the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return * Charity (practice), the giving of help to those in need ...

'' - Colm Ó Snodaigh's 2007 solo album. Another more recent musical setting of ''Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa'' was composed by

Zoë Conway Zoë Conway is an Irish violinist, trained in both classical music and traditional fiddle-playing. She is married to fellow Irish traditional musician John McIntyre. Early life Born in Dundalk in 1981, attended St Louis Secondary School, ...

and her husband John McIntyre, who first recorded their arrangement as part of the album '' Allt'', which is a collaboration with

Scottish traditional music Scottish folk music (also Scottish traditional music) is a Music genre, genre of folk music that uses forms that are identified as part of the Scottish musical tradition. There is evidence that there was a flourishing culture of popular music in ...

ian

Julie Fowlis Julie Fowlis (born 20 June 1978) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Early life Fowlis grew up on North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gaelic-speaking community. Her mothe ...

and her husband Éamonn Doorley. Conway and McIntyre's musical setting of Ó Direáin's poem remains a very popular one, and they often perform it together on the concert stage. Despite being a native speaker of the

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...

dialect of

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

, Julie Fowlis has performed the song alongside them and has alternated with Zoë Conway in singing the verses in

Bibliography

His main works include the poetry collections: *''Coinnle Geala'' (1942) *''Dánta Aniar'' (1943) *''Rogha Dánta'' (1949) *''Ó Mórna agus Dánta Eile'' (1957) *''Ár Ré Dhearóil'' (1962) *''Cloch Choirnéil'' (1967) *''Crainn is Cairde'' (1970) *''Dánta 1939-79'' (1980) *''Ceacht an Éin'' (1984) *''Béasa an Túir'' (1984) *''Tacar Dánta/Selected Poems'' (1984) *''Craobhóg: Dán'' (1986) *''Fear Lásta Lampaí'' (1928 - i nGaillimh/in Galway) His autobiographical essays are collected as ''Feamainn Bhealtaine'' (1961). * Iníon Rí na Spáinne (1952) Translation

References

Bibliography

External links

Ó Direáin, Máirtín (1910-1988)
at ainm.ie
Short Aosdána biography

* Máirtín O'Direáin a
The Teresa Deevy Archive
* Máirtín O'Direáin Irish poem
An tEarrach Thiar Irish poem with English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODireain, Mairtin 1910 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Irish-language poets 20th-century Irish poets 20th-century male writers Aran Islands Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Irish male poets Irish modernist poets People from County Galway