Liam Ó Muirthile (15 November 1950 – 18 May 2018) was a prominent

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 indigenou ...

poet who also wrote plays and novels, he was also a journalist. Ó Muirthile originally came to the fore as a member of a group of poets from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

who collaborated in the journal '' Innti'' in the late 1960s.

Biography

He was born in Cork in 1950 and was educated there. He took a BA in Irish and French at UCC. His Irish was acquired at school and from sojourns in the

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

of West Kerry. He was a member of a group of poets at

in the late 1960s who chose Irish as a creative medium and were closely associated with the modernist poetry journal '' Innti'', founded by fellow poet

Michael Davitt Michael Davitt (25 March 1846 – 30 May 1906) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule (Ireland), Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's ...

(1950–2005). They were influenced by the work of Cork poet

Seán Ó Ríordáin Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin (3 December 1916 – 21 February 1977), sometimes referred to as an Ríordánach, was an Irish language poet and later a newspaper columnist. He is credited with introducing European themes to Irish poetry, and is wi ...

, by the musician and composer Seán Ó Riada, and by popular American culture. Greg Delanty, writing for Poetry International, claimed that a fundamental achievement of Ó Muirthile and other members of the ''Innti'' group was to adapt the language to a contemporary urban landscape in a way that reflected the counterculture of the sixties.

Writing

Ó Muirthile has been described as a poet of immense formal and musical mastery who read deeply into the classical and neo-classical poetry of the Irish language. He studied

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

as a student and this influenced his work. He translated poetry by

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the Poetic realism, poetic ...

and Anne Hébert. His first collection of poetry was ''Tine Chnámh'' (1984). This received the Irish American Cultural Institute’s literary award and an

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

prize for poetry. He subsequently published a number of other collections. In 1996 he received the Butler Award for his novel ''Ar Bhruach na Laoi''. Several plays by him have been staged. From 1989 to 2003 he wrote a weekly column, “An Peann Coitianta,” for the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

''. Poems by him have been translated into English,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, Hungarian and Romanian. Two of his poems, ''Meachán Rudaí'' and ''Áthas'' have been put to music by the Irish/American group The Gloaming and feature on their third studio album '' The Gloaming 3''.

Bibliography

Poetry

''Tine Cnámh''. Sáirseál Ó Marcaigh, Dublin 1984. ''Dialann Bóthair''. Gallery Press, Oldcastle 1992. ''Walking Time''. Cló Iar-Chonnacht, Galway 2000. ''Dánta Déanta''. Cois Life, Dublin 2005. ''An Seileitleán agus véarsaí seilí eilí''. Cois Life, Dublin 2005. ''Sanas''. Cois Life, Dublin 2007. ''Wood Cutting: New and Selected Poems''. Cois Life, Dublin 2014. ''Camino de Santiago: Dánta, poems, poemas''. Cois Life, Dublin 2018.

Essays / Non-fiction

''An Peann Coitianta''. Comhar, Dublin 1992. ''An Peann Coitianta 2''. Cois Life, Dublin 1997. ''Ar an bPeann''. Cois Life, Dublin 2005. ''Rogha Alt: An Peann Coitianta 1989–2003''. Cois Life, Dublin 2013. ''Oilithreach pinn''. Cois Life, Dublin 2017.

Fiction

''Ar Bhruach na Laoi''. Comhar, Dublin 1995. ''Gaothán''. Cois Life, Dublin 2000. ''Sister Elizabeth ag eitilt''. Cois Life, Dublin 2005.

Drama

''Tine Chnámh''. Sáirséal Ó Marcaigh, Dublin 1984. Revised and adapted for stage by Liam Ó Muirthile and Michael Scott. ''Fear an Tae''. Cois Life, Dublin 1999. ''Liodán na hAbhann''. Cois Life, Dublin 2001.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ó Muirthile, Liam 1950 births 2018 deaths Irish-language writers Irish writers 20th-century Irish poets 21st-century Irish poets Writers from Cork (city)