Ciarán Bairéad (1905–1976) 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 ...

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or research ...

. Ciarán Bairéad was born into a native Irish speaking family in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

on 17 February 1905. His parents were Siobhán Ní Mhurchú and Stiofán Bairéad (1867-1921), the first treasurer of

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it em ...

. Ciáran Bairéad came to

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

in the mid-1950s working with the

Irish Folklore Commission The Irish Folklore Commission (''Coimisiún Béaloideasa Éireann'' in Irish) 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 De ...

and An Fáinne, an organisation which promoted

. Among his works was the transcriptions of ''Leabhard na nAmhrán'', a duanaire of folksongs by

Pádhraic Ó Comáin Pádhraic Ó Comáin (fl. 1878) was an Irish scribe. Ó Comáin was from Pairce O Cuaman, Creig Mhóir, Leacach (Lackagh, County Galway). His scribal work consists of folk songs, poetry, Fianna stories, and poems by Antoine Ó Raifteiri and t ...

. It is especially valuable as the original appears to be misplaced. In addition he wrote detailed biographies of the lives and works of other scholars in the

Gaelic Revival The Gaelic revival ( ga, Athbheochan na Gaeilge) was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including folklore, mythology, sports, music, arts, etc.). Ir ...

such as

Seosamh Laoide Seosamh Laoide ( en, Joseph H. Lloyd, 1865–1939), known as "Mac Tíre na Páirce" ("Wolf of the Park"), was an Irish language scholar and activist during the period 1893 – 1915. Today he is perhaps best remembered for his work on Irish placen ...

. He also conducted interviews with locals of the parish concerning accounts of the 1504

Battle of Knockdoe The Battle of Knockdoe took place on 19 August 1504 at Knockdoe, in the Parish of Lackagh (Irish ''Leacach''), County Galway, between two Anglo-Irish lords— Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, and Ulick Fionn Bur ...

, on placenames, faction fights and the current use of Irish. Among those interviews were

Micheál Ó Síoda Micheál Ó Síoda () was an Irish scribe and folklorist. Ó Síoda was a native of Carnmore, and knowledgeable about the history of the parish of Lackagh-Turloughmore in County Galway. He was an especial authority on the Fair of Turloughmore, ...

and

Séan Ó Loirgneáin Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

. Ciarán Bairéad lived in Lackagh, Co Galway for over twenty years. He died on 18 August 1976 and is buried in Claregalway Cemetery. His papers are held in the

National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

.Bairéad, Ciarán (1905–1976), ''Ainm.ie''
see also http://www.calmhosting01.com/NUIG/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=G03

References

* ''In Their Own Words: The Parish of

Lackagh The parish of Lackagh or Lacagh is located in County Galway, Ireland, approximately halfway between Galway city and Tuam (east of a line between these two towns). It is bounded by the parishes of Athenry, Abbeyknockmoy, Corofin, Annaghdown ...

Turloughmore Turloughmore ( ; ) is a village in County Galway, Ireland. The name means "the large lake," a notable feature of the area, together with the Clare River (''Abhainn an Chláir''). Turloughmore lies on the N63 national secondary road. It is a ...

and its People'', ed. Liz Blackmore, John Cronin, Donal Ferrie and Brid Higgins,

, 2001. . * ''Scríobhaithe Lámhscríbhinní Gaeilge I nGaillimh 1700-1900'', William Mahon, in "Galway:History and Society", 1996 People from County Galway 1905 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Irish writers Irish folklorists Irish-language writers {{Ireland-writer-stub

See also

References