Donncha Ó Céileachair (1918 – 1960) was a prominent writer in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

. He and his sister, Síle Ní Chéileachair, published an influential collection of short stories, and he was also notable as a biographer and travel writer.

Personal life

He was born in

Cúil Aodha Cúil Aodha (), anglicised as Coolea, is a townland and village in the Gaeltacht region of Muskerry in County Cork, Ireland. The area is near the source of the River Sullane in the Derrynasaggart Mountains. Geography Cúil Aodha townland is i ...

West Cork West Cork () is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbere, Clonakilty, Du ...

and was raised in an environment in which Irish was the family language. He qualified as a teacher in De La Salle College in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. He was teaching in a Christian Brothers school in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

when the Education Department recruited him to work on the English-Irish dictionary edited by

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 ...

(published 1959). Before returning to teaching he spent some time working for the Irish Placenames Commission. He acquired an MA on the Irish of

Muskerry Muskerry () is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West 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 ...

. He married Eistir Ní Éalaithe, also a teacher, in 1952, and they had four children. He died unexpectedly of

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

on 21 July 1960. He is buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

, Dublin.

Writing career

Ó Céileachair, described as "a prolific and highly regarded author of short stories and non-fiction in Irish," acquired his first experience in writing from helping his father, a traditional native speaker of Irish, write his autobiography. He attended a course given by the writer Daniel Corkery in Cúil Aodha on the art of the short story, and in 1955 he and his sister Síle published a jointly written and well-received collection of 14 stories called ''Bullaí Mhártain'', with both rural and urban settings. The collection has been praised for its concision, variety and ease of style.Bannister, Garry, ‘Gnéithe den Litríocht san Fhichiú hAois’
/ref> In 1958 Ó Céileachair and Proinsias Ó Conluain published ''An Duinníneach'', a joint biography of the lexicographer and literary scholar Father Patrick Dinneen, a leading figure in the

Gaelic Revival The Gaelic revival () 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.). Irish had diminished as a sp ...

. This has been described as an extremely important work, not least because of the impressive density of the social, political and literary background. He also wrote ''Dialann Oilithrigh'', an account of a pilgrimage to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, described by critics as being not a traditionally pious description but a lively and stylish diary with clear insight into the author’s mind. Ó Céileachair also wrote articles for various newspapers and was responsible for several translations, sometimes in collaboration with the authors.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ó Céileachair, Donncha 1918 births Irish-language writers 20th-century Irish short story writers Irish male short story writers 1960 deaths 20th-century Irish male writers Writers from County Cork Alumni of De La Salle Teacher Training College, Waterford