Pádraic Ó Conaire (28 February 1882 – 6 October 1928) was an Irish writer and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

whose production was primarily in the

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 ...

. In his lifetime he wrote 26 books, 473 stories, 237 essays and 6 plays. His acclaimed novel '' Deoraíocht'' has been described by Angela Bourke as 'the earliest example of modernist fiction in Irish'.

Life

Ó Conaire was born in the Lobster Pot public house on the New Docks in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

on 28 February 1882. His father was a publican, who owned two premises in the town. His mother was Kate McDonagh. He was orphaned by the age of eleven. He spent a period living with his uncle in Gairfean,

Ros Muc Rosmuc or Ros Muc, sometimes anglicised as Rosmuck, is a village in the Conamara Gaeltacht of County Galway, Ireland. It lies halfway between the town of Clifden and the city of Galway. Irish is the predominant spoken language in the area, with ...

, Connemara. The area is in 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 ...

(Irish-speaking area) and Ó Conaire learned to speak Irish fluently. He emigrated to London in 1899 where he got a job with the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

. He became involved in the work of the Gaelic League. A pioneer in the

Gaelic revival The Gaelic revival ( ga, Athbheochan na Gaeilge) was the late-nineteenth-century Romantic nationalism, national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including Irish folklore, folklore, Iri ...

in the last century, Ó Conaire and

Pádraig Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

are regarded as being the two most important Irish language short story writers during the first decades of the 20th century. He was married to Molly Ní Mhanais, with whom he had four children: Eileen (born 22 February 1905), Patrick (born 3 November 1906), Kathleen (born 24 February 1909), and Mary Josephine (28 July 1911 – 1922) who died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

. Ó Conaire returned to Ireland in 1914, leaving his family in London. Living mostly in Galway, he earned a meagre living through writing, teaching at Gaeltacht summer schools, and as an occasional organiser for the Gaelic League. He died on a visit to Dublin in 1928 after complaining of internal pains while at the head office of the Gaelic League. He was 46. His fellow poet Frederick Robert Higgins wrote a celebrated ''Lament for Pádraic Ó Conaire''. He has family still living to this day in England, as well as in Galway and Canada. The Ó Conaire surname is still strong in the Ros Muc area.

Inspiration for internet based satire

Ó Conaire's short story ''M'asal Beag Dubh'' was the inspiration for an internet based satire on the football transfer market. The fictitious character Masal Bugduv was created. The name sounds similar to the Gaelic pronunciation of ''M'asal Beag Dubh''. Journalists who didn't fact check quite as thoroughly as they should have missed the satire and told the world of the up-and-coming Moldovan star.

Statue

A statue of Ó Conaire's was unveiled in 1935 by

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

Eyre Square Eyre Square (; ga, An Fhaiche Mhór, also known as John F. Kennedy Memorial Park) is a city public park in Galway, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of William Street and Shop Street. Galway rai ...

in the heart of Galway City. It was popular with tourists until it was decapitated by four men in 1999. It was repaired at a cost of £50,000 and moved to Galway City Museum in 2004. A bronze replica of the statue was unveiled in Eyre Square in November 2017.

List of writings

The following is a selection of Ó Conaire's notable works which have been republished, have won awards, been translated, or gained attention in the national press.

Novels

* ''Deoraíocht'', 1910 * ''Fearfeasa Mac Feasa''

Short stories

* '' An Crann Géagach'' - a collection of 13 short stories, including: ** '' M'asal Beag Dubh'' * ''Rogha Scéalta'', published in 2008 by CIC, a collection of 21 short stories, also including ''M'asal Beag Dubh'' ** ''Cuireadh'' ** ''M'asal Beag Dubh'' ** ''An Comhrac'' ** ''Ceol an Uafáis'' ** ''Nóra Mharcais Bhig'', 1906 ** ''Na Gaiscígh'' ** ''An tÁdh'' ** ''An Chéad Chloch'', 1914 ** ''Aba-Cána-Lú!'' ** ''Ná Lig Sinn i gCathú'' ** ''Reggie'' ** ''Misneach'' ** ''An Gníomh'' ** ''Crógacht'' ** ''An Rua ina Údar'' ** ''Trucail an Lóin'' ** ''Neill'' ** ''An Bhean a Ciapadh'' ** ''An Ceol agaus an Chuimhne I'' ** ''Cnoc mo Chroí'' ** ''Slán Agaibh, a Chairde!'' * ''Scothscéalta'', a collection containing: ** ''Teatrarc na Gaililí'' ** ''Beirt Bhan Misniúil'' ** ''Ná Lig Sinn i gCathú'' ** ''An Bhean ar Leag Dia Lámh Uirthi'' ** ''Anam An Easpaig'' ** ''Nóra Mharcais Bhig'' ** ''Neill'' ** ''An Bhean a Ciapadh'' ** ''Páidín Mháire'' ** ''M'Fhile Caol Dubh'' A collection translated into English was published as ''The Finest Stories of Padric O Conaire'', 1982. The collection includes all the stories from ''Scothscéalta'' plus a few more. Some editions contain 15 stories, others contain 16, the additional story being ''The Bishop's Soul'' translated to English by

Breandán Ó hEithir Breandán Ó hEithir (18 January 1930 – 26 October 1990) was an Irish writer and broadcaster.List of people on stamps of Ireland This is a list of people on stamps of Ireland, including the years when they appeared on a stamp. Because no Irish stamps were designed prior to 1929, the first Irish stamps issued by the Provisional Government of Ireland were the then-current B ...

* Dónall Mac Amhlaigh * Katherine Hughes (activist) * Masal Bugduv

References

External links

* Tom Kenny,
Ó Conaire — an fear
, ''Galway Advertiser'', 23 February 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconaire, Padraic 1882 births 1928 deaths 20th-century Irish people Irish journalists Irish-language writers People from Galway (city) People from County Galway 20th-century journalists