Éilís Ní Bhrádaigh (1 April 1927 17 May 2007), writer and lexicographer was involved in the creation of three major Irish-language dictionaries.

Biography

Éilís Ní Bhrádaigh was born Alice Brady to Francis Brady and Elena Nolan in

Fairview, Dublin Fairview () is an inner coastal suburb of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council and in the city's Dublin 3, D03 postal district. Part of the area forms Fairview Park, a recreational amenity laid out o ...

, on 1 April 1927. She was one of four, with a brother Christy, and two sisters, Áine and Margaret. Her father was involved in 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

and her uncle Christopher printed the

Proclamation of the Irish Republic The Proclamation of the Republic (), also known as the 1916 Proclamation or the Easter Proclamation, was a document issued by the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising in Ireland, which began on 24 April 1916. ...

. Ní Bhrádaigh got her education, first in St. Mary's School,

Marlborough Street, Dublin Marlborough Street () is a street in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. Naming The street was named Great Marlborough Street after the 1st Duke of Marlborough, known for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim during the 18th century. In the l ...

near where the family lived before they moved to

Cabra, Dublin Cabra () is an inner suburb on the northside of Dublin city in Ireland. It is approximately northwest of the city centre, in the administrative area of Dublin City Council. It was commonly known as Cabragh until the early 20th century. Large ...

. She then attended

St Louis High School, Rathmines St. Louis High School is an all-girls secondary school located in Rathmines, Dublin. History The school was founded in 1913 by the Sisters of St. Louis, a religious community of nuns which was founded in post-revolutionary France in 1842. The ...

. After winning the Coiste na bPáistí Gaeltacht Scholarship Ní Bhrádaigh spent time in Connemara, County Galway to study Irish. Ní Bhrádaigh went on to join the civil service where she got a position in the dictionary section in 1945. There Ní Bhrádaigh worked with

Tomás de Bhaldraithe Tomás Mac Donnchadha de Bhaldraithe (born Thomas MacDonagh Waldron; 14 December 1916 – 24 April 1996) was an Irish scholar notable for his work on the Irish language, particularly in the field of lexicography. He is best known for his ''Engli ...

and became friends with him and his wife Vivienne. Through her work on the dictionary Ní Bhrádaigh met a significant number of pivotal people in the Irish language including

Máire Mhac an tSaoi Máire Mhac an tSaoi (4 April 1922 – 16 October 2021) was an Irish civil service diplomat, writer of Modernist poetry in the Corca Dhuibhne dialect of Munster Irish, a memoirist, and a highly important figure within modern literature in I ...

, Séamus Ó Saothraí, Seán an Cóta Caomhánach, Pádraig Ua Maoileoin and others. Ní Bhrádaigh worked on the street games of Cabra and a book was published on the subject in 1975 by the

Irish Folklore Commission The Irish Folklore Commission () was set up in 1935 by the Irish Government to study and collect information on the folklore and traditions of Ireland. History Séamus Ó Duilearga (James Hamilton Delargy) founded ''An Cumann le Béaloideas Éir ...

. She collected the speech and words of Dublin city and donated her collection to the Department of Irish Folklore at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. Her intention had been to publish the collection in a book. She died on 17 May 2007. Ní Bhrádaigh was a member of the Old Dublin Society and treasurer of the Merriman Society.

Bibliography

* English-Irish dictionary (1959) * English-Irish Dictionary (1977) * Foclóir na Nua-Ghaeilge ' (Royal Irish Academy) * Foclóir Póca (1986) * All in, all in: A selection of Dublin Children's traditional Street Games with Rhymes and Music (1975)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Bhradaigh, Eilís 1927 births 2007 deaths Irish lexicographers Writers from Dublin (city) People educated at St Louis High School, Rathmines People from Fairview, Dublin