Liam Ó Briain (16 September 1888 – 12 August 1974) was an Irish language expert and political activist. Born in

North Wall, Dublin North Wall () is an area east of the inner north side of Dublin, along the River Liffey where it forms one of the Dublin quays. The name refers to the North Bull Wall, which was constructed to form Dublin Port, extend the Liffey estuary an ...

as William O'Brien, he took an interest 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 ...

from an early age and while still at the

O'Connell School The O’Connell School is a secondary and primary school for boys located on North Richmond Street in Dublin, Ireland. The school, named in honour of the leader of Catholic Emancipation, Daniel O’Connell, has the distinction of being the olde ...

started using the Irish version of his name. He also attended meetings of the

Gaelic League (; 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 eme ...

, then attended

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 ...

(UCD) on a scholarship, where he studied French, English and Irish, receiving a BA and an MA.Paul Rouse, "Ó Briain, Liam", ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' UCD decided to start awarding one annual scholarship for overseas travel in 1911, and Ó Briain won the first one, using it to visit Germany and study under

Kuno Meyer Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brothe ...

and

Rudolf Thurneysen Eduard Rudolf Thurneysen (14 March 1857 – 9 August 1940) was a Swiss linguist and Celticist. Biography Born in Basel, Thurneysen studied classical philology in Basel, Leipzig, Berlin and Paris. His teachers included Ernst Windisch and ...

. After three years, he returned home, where he rejoined the Gaelic League and began teaching French at UCD. He also joined the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

then, the following year,

Seán T. O'Kelly Seán Thomas O'Kelly (; 25 June 1882 – 23 November 1966), originally John T. O'Kelly, was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the second president of Ireland from June 1945 to June 1959. He also served as deputy prime minister of Ir ...

convinced him to join the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

. During the

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 ...

, Ó Briain saw action with the

Irish Citizen Army The Irish Citizen Army (), or ICA, was a paramilitary group first formed in Dublin to defend the picket lines and street demonstrations of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) against the police during the Great Dublin Lock ...

. He came into conflict with his commander,

Michael Mallin Michael Thomas Christopher Mallin (; 1 December 1874 – 8 May 1916) was an Irish republican, Socialist and devout Catholic who took an active role in the Easter Rising of 1916. He was a silk weaver, the co-founder with Francis Sheehy-Skeffingt ...

, as he wanted to pursue a strategy without the Dublin brigade being "cooped up in the city". However, Mallin overruled him and insisted they should focus on taking

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

.Charles Townshend, "Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion", p.93 He spent two months in prison and six at an internment camp before being released to discover that he had been fired from his job, but quickly obtained a professorship in Romance languages at

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

(UCG). Around this time, Ó Briain joined

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

, and he stood unsuccessfully for the party in Mid Armagh at the

1918 Irish general election The Irish component of the 1918 United Kingdom general election took place on 14 December 1918. It was the final United Kingdom general election to be held throughout Ireland, as the next election would happen following Irish independence. It is ...

, taking 5,689 votes. His campaign led, indirectly, to another prison sentence. On release, he was appointed as a judge in the then-illegal republican court system, and visited both France and Italy to try to source weapons for the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

. In November 1920, he was again arrested and interned for just over a year, thereby missing the conclusion of the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

. By the time he was released, the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

had been signed; he supported this, and took no further part in militant activity. In the newly independent Ireland, Ó Briain remained a professor at Galway. He also stood in the

1925 Seanad election An election for 19 of the 60 seats in Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Irish Free State, was held on 17 September 1925. The election was by single transferable vote, with the entire state being used as a 19-seat constituency. The election sa ...

, although he was not successful. He was the founding secretary of the Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe theatre, also acting in many of its productions, and spent much time translating works from English and the Romance languages into Irish. He stood to become president of UCG in 1945, but was not elected, and in the 1940s and 1950s was best known for his many appearances on television and radio. On 1 September 1921 he married Helen Lawlor. The couple's only child was the journalist Eibhlín Ní Bhriain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O Briain, Liam 1888 births 1974 deaths 20th-century Irish people Academics of University College Dublin Academics of the University of Galway Alumni of University College Dublin Irish language activists Writers from Dublin (city) People of the Easter Rising People of the Irish War of Independence 20th-century Irish-language writers Irish expatriates in Germany Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates