Tomás Ó Raghallaigh (1881-1966) 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 ...

academic and writer. O Raghallaigh was born in Leitir Fhraoigh (Loughwell), near Maigh Cuilinn

Moycullen Moycullen ( ga, Maigh Cuilinn) is a Gaeltacht village in County Galway, Ireland, about 10 km (7 mi) northwest of Galway city. It is near Lough Corrib, on the N59 road to Oughterard and Clifden, in Connemara. Moycullen is now a satel ...

Co. Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

in May 1883 to Máire Ní Loideáin from Spiddal and Seán Ó’Raghallaigh. His large family spoke Irish at home. He attended primary school in Leitir Fhraoigh went to St. Joseph's in Galway and then to St Patrick's College, Dublin where he trained to become a teacher. He taught in Dublin initially,

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

and then Achill, in

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 ...

Achill Sound ''Gob an Choire'' or ''Gob a' Choire'' (English name: Achill Sound), formerly anglicised as ''Gubacurra'', is a Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the east coast of Achill Island and is the first settlement one reaches afte ...

, Saula, Dooagh and Dookinella. He encountered resistance to teaching Irish. He helped establish ''Scoil Acla'' in Dooagh, a traditional Irish music summer school, which he also named. He met his wife there - Máire Sineád Ní Challanáin, a teacher; they had five children. In 1911 he got a job as a ''muinteoir taistil'' (a travelling teacher for ''Conradh na Gaeilge'' (the Gaelic League)) in Mayo. He travelled across Ireland to gain support for Irish language revival. A colleague of Douglas Hyde, he became an organiser for the Galway Gaelic League and spread its influence in the west of Ireland in the early 20th century. He was appointed a lecturer in Irish at University College Galway (UCG) and helped develop Irish in the college curriculum. He authored many pamphlets and articles in Irish and was a regular contributor to ''An Stoc'', the Irish monthly paper, which he edited with Tomas Ó Maille. With Padraig Ó Domhnallain, he wrote a series of short stories which were published under the title ''Bruth-Fa-Thiar''. He later became Professor of Irish at UCG, retiring in 1952. He was the father of Padraic O Raghallaigh, first Ceannaire of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, the Irish-language radio station. He died aged 84 in

Castleblakeney Castleblakeney, historically Gallagh (), is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of the R359 and R339 regional roads, 5km south of the town of Mountbellew Mountbellew or Mountbellew Bridge (historically ''Cregg ...

, Co. Galway.

Select bibliography

* ''An Saoil Gaedhilge'', Gallimh, O’Gorman, 1927. * ''Eachdhoun an Air'' * ''Maigin Aisti'' * ''Guth na Gaodhltachta, no comrade do chach'', with Muiris Ó Cathain, Baile Átha Cliath, Comhlucht Oideachais na hEireann, 1923

References

* ''Galway Authors'', Helen Maher, 1976 {{DEFAULTSORT:O Raghallaigh, Tomas Writers from County Galway 1881 births 1966 deaths Irish male short story writers 20th-century Irish short story writers 20th-century Irish male writers People from Moycullen