Pádraig Ó Fiannachta (1927 – 15 July 2016) 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 the ...

scholar, poet and priest from the

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

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 ...

. He is perhaps best known for producing a translation of the

Christian Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

into the Irish language.

Biography

Ó Fiannachta studied at

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

and All Hallows,

Clonliffe College Holy Cross College (also known as Clonliffe College), located in Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra was founded in 1854 as the Catholic diocesan seminary for Dublin by Cardinal Paul Cullen. History The College was founded in 1859 by the then Archbish ...

. He was ordained a priest in

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing down, due to decreasing student numbers. The sale ...

in 1953. He served for some time as a priest in Wales, where he became a good friend of

Waldo Williams Waldo Goronwy Williams (30 September 1904 – 20 May 1971) was one of the leading Welsh-language poets of the 20th century. He was also a notable Christian pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist. He is often referred to by his f ...

, prior to returning to Maynooth College, where he became professor of early Irish in 1960 as well as

Welsh Language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

lecturer. He was made professor of

Modern Irish 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 t ...

at Maynooth in 1982 and was awarded the

Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...

prize for literature in 1969. He translated and edited an Irish-language version of the Bible – An Bíobla Naofa which was published in 1982. In "Léim an Dá Mhíle" (1999); bilingual Irish/English edition (2005), he portrays the public life of Jesus as lived, not in Galilee, but in the Dingle peninsula. He retired from Maynooth in 1992, returning to

Dingle Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...

as parish priest. In 1998 he was awarded the title ''

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

'' by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. In 2013, he was made a Companion of the Order of Clans of Ireland. In 2015 he was awarded the American Irish Historical Society's Cultural Award. He was involved in many Dingle events such as ''the blessing of the boats'' and participated in the ''Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis'' name-change debate. He died in Dingle on 15 July 2016 at the age of 89 and is buried in the grounds of Séipéal Chaitlíona in Ventry.

Publications

*''An Bíobla Naofa''. translated and edited by Padraig O'Fiannachta (1982) *''The Tain'' (Hardcover) by Padraig O'Fiannachta (

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...

1966) *''Rúin'' (1969) *''Feoirlingi Fileata'' (1972) *''Sciuird chun na Rúise'' (1973) *''Ó Chorr na Móna go Bangalore'' (1975) *''Donn Bo'' (1976) *''Seanghaeilge Gan Dua'' (1981) *''Deora Dé'' (1987) *''Léim An Dá Mile'' (1999) *''Irisleabhar Mha Nuad'', O'FIANNACHTA, PADRAIG *''Prayers from the Irish Tradition'' by Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, English translation by Desmond Forristal Columba Press (1 Jan 2000) *Mil Bhaile Aimín Treaint (2012) *''Triad of poetry and stories'', written by Jane Beatrice Ejim, translated by Padraig O Fiannachta.

References

External links

Padraig Ó Fiannachta, ''Ainm.ie''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ofiannachta, Padraig 1927 births 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Translators to Irish Academics of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Alumni of University College Cork Alumni of All Hallows College, Dublin Irish-language writers Irish language activists Christian clergy from County Kerry 2016 deaths Celtic studies scholars Translators of the Bible into Irish 20th-century Irish translators