Máirtín Ó Direáin (; 29 November 1910 – 19 March 1988) was an Irish poet from the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

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 ...

. Along with

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 ...

and

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 ...

, Ó Direáin was, in the words of Louis de Paor, "one of a trinity of poets who revolutionised Irish language poetry in the 1940s and 50s." According to a 1984 lecture by Desmond Egan, "Ó Direáin's genius stands revealed - to the extent that we must look abroad for poets with whom his achievement might best be compared; to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Antonio Machado Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz (26 July 1875 – 22 February 1939), known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation ...

's sweet intensity; to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and Akhmatova; to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the bittersweet music of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

Biography

Ó Direáin was born in Sruthán on Inis Mór in the

and was the eldest of the three sons and one daughter of Seán Ó Direáin and Mairéad Ní Dhireáin of Inis Mór. As was still common in the West of Ireland at the time, Ó Direáin grew up as a

monoglot Monoglottism (Greek μόνος ''monos'', "alone, solitary", + γλῶττα , "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism, is the condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism. ...

and spoke only Connacht Irish until his mid-teens. His father died prematurely in 1917 and left his widow with four children and less than 20 acres of farmland. Ó Direáin was educated at Onaght national school. Like many other writers, poets, and intellectuals of the post-

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 ...

era, Ó Direáin chose to make a career in the Irish civil service. He worked first for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in Galway City from 1928 to 1937, where Ó Direáin also served as the secretary of the city's chapter of Conradh na Gaeilge and sometime times also acted in Irish language

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

s. While living in Galway City, Ó Direáin also wrote an Irish-language stage play about the life of Russian Symbolist poet Alexander Blok for the Taibhdhearc theatre run by

Micheál Mac Liammóir Micheál Mac Liammóir (born Alfred Lee Willmore; 25 October 1899 – 6 March 1978) was an actor, designer, dramatist, writer, and impresario in 20th-century Ireland. Though born in London to an English family with no Irish connections, he emig ...

and Hilton Edwards. Ó Direáin then lived and worked 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 ...

, first for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs and then

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, among, "the scurrying Lilliputians of the metropolis, the ''seangánfhir'', or ant-people", from 1937 until 1975. After hearing a lecture in 1938 by prominent

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 ...

poet and writer

Tadhg Ó Donnchadha Tadhg Ó Donnchadha (1874 – 1949) was an Irish writer, poet, editor, translator and a prominent member of the Gaelic League (''Conradh na Gaeilge'') and the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was editor of ''Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge'' (The ...

, Ó Direáin decided, by his own account, to dedicate his life to Modern literature in Irish and began writing poetry. Muiris Mac Conghail later disagreed in a 1988 article about his late friend, as he believed that Ó Direáin was already planning to be a poet even when he was still a child upon Inishmore. At this time, Tadhg Ó Donnchadha and many other Gaelic revivalists like him favoured reviving both the

Classical Gaelic Early Modern Irish () represented a transition between Middle Irish and Irish language, Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century. Classical Gaelic Classical Gaelic or C ...

literary language Literary language is the Register (sociolinguistics), register of a language used when writing in a formal, academic writing, academic, or particularly polite tone; when speaking or writing in such a tone, it can also be known as formal language. ...

and Dán Díreach; the strict metres. Both had been traditionally used in the Irish bardic poetry composed in both

Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late Prehistory of Ireland, prehistoric era until the 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Norman invasi ...

and the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and continued to be widely understood in both countries for at least a century after the bardic schools were closed down in the 17th-century. Instead of taking this approach, Ó Direáin, joined a few years later by fellow poets

and

, spearheaded a revival of Modernist poetry, which had been lying dormant in Irish language verse since the

execution by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually rea ...

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, Irish poetry, poet, writer, Irish nationalism, nationalist, Irish republicanism, republican political activist a ...

following 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 ...

in 1916. Similarly to Ó Ríordáin and Mhac an tSaoi, Ó Direáin preferred using the

Modern Irish 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 had grown up speaking in a living

community instead of older forms of the language. Ó Direáin differed radically from Mhac an tSaoi, however, who sometimes wrote Dán Díreach in the living Munster Irish dialect spoken around Dun Chaoin, in that he preferred emulating T.S. Eliot and writing poetry in

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

ically measured, but more loose and experimental verse forms inspired by the ''Amhrán'' metre oral poetry and Sean Nós songs he had learned in the ceilidh houses as a child upon Inishmore. The results were nothing less than revolutionary. Ó Direáin published his first two poetry collections at his own expense in 1942 and 1943. In 1949, his selected poems became one of the first books published by Sáirséal agus Dill, a new publishing house for Modern literature in Irish. Ó Direáin's early poetry celebrated the traditional cultural life he had known upon the Aran Islands and lamented both its passing and the mass migration to Ireland's major cities. One of his best-known poems, ''Stoite'' ("Uprooted"), contrasts traditional Irish rural life in union with seasonal rhythms and ancestral culture with the drab existence of urban civil servants and office workers. At the same time, as his poetry and other writings also reveal, Ó Direáin enjoyed, at least to an extent, the Irish-speaking literary and cultural life of both Galway City and Dublin. While Ó Direáin was rooted deeply in the literature and

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

of Gaelic Ireland, his poetry also shows influence from throughout

world literature World literature is used to refer to the world's total national literature and the circulation of works into the wider world beyond their country of origin. In the past, it primarily referred to the masterpieces of Western European literature. ...

. For example, Ó Direáin drew inspiration from both T.S. Eliot and

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

, whose, "antipathy for 'the filthy modern tide'", matched his own. Even when delivering public lectures in the Irish language, Ó Direáin often quoted extensively from the poetry and essays of Eliot, in the original English. From the

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

of the Germanosphere, the philosophy of both

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

and Oswald Spengler further influenced Ó Direáin's, "apocalyptic sense of a civilisation in terminal decline." Another favorite modern writer who influenced Ó Direáin deeply was

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

Russian political

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

and philosopher

Nikolai Berdyaev Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (; ; – 24 March 1948) was a Russian Empire, Russian philosopher, theologian, and Christian existentialism, Christian existentialist who emphasized the existentialism, existential spiritual significance of Pe ...

. In a radical difference from the rejection of Catholic teaching on human sexuality found even during the 1950s in the poetry of Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Ó Direáin's poetry, both during and after the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

in Dublin, repeatedly displays the horror he felt as he witnessed the escalating collapse of

Christian morality Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a Virtue ethics, virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a Deontological ethics, deontological ethic which emphasizes duty according ...

, the growing number of, "emasculated men" and the similar loss of feminity in women. Ó Direáin considered all three trends to be rooted in the (), or "Uprootedness", of

Irish culture The culture of Ireland includes the Irish art, art, Music of Ireland, music, Irish dance, dance, Irish mythology, folklore, Irish clothing, traditional clothing, Irish language, language, Irish literature, literature, Irish cuisine, cuisine ...

and

Irish people The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and Culture of Ireland, culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has be ...

in long English-speaking parts of the country. Ó Direáin also went on the record as a harsh critic of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, but during an interview for the documentary ''An Carraig Stoite'', a female Irish civil service colleague described Ó Direáin as a man who was always very gentlemanly towards his female coworkers. She described the Irish civil service of the era as an extremely depressing career for people of both genders. During the same documentary, Ó Direáin's daughter, Niamh Ní Dhireáin, recalled the very deep love that her parents felt for each other and that the happiest times of her father's day were always after coming home to his family. Ó Direáin's vocal anti-feminism was accordingly rooted in his own preference for time with his family and his hatred of working in an urban office. In an interview published posthumously, Ó Direáin went on the record saying that he thought women who chose to build their whole life around their job were either very foolish or very controlling in a manner he had often seen among male

careerist Careerism is the propensity to pursue career advancement, Power (social and political), power, and prestige outside of work performance. Cultural environment Cultural factors influence how careerists view their occupational goals. How an individ ...

s. No one, he explained, should work a day job if they had another and better option. He also said, though, that he firmly believed that women who did the same job as men deserved to be paid the same wage. He also published poetry eulogizing

Grace O'Malley Gráinne O'Malley (, ; – ), also known as Grace O'Malley, was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. Upon her father's death, she took over active leadership of the lords ...

and the courage and the sacrifices made in the name of

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...

by women during both the

and the

. In 1952, Ó Direáin translated a play by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy for Radio Éireann; the play was called ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (translated as ''Iníon Rí na Spáinne''). Ó Direáin's lifelong adherence to

traditionalist conservatism Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political philosophy, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain posited natural laws t ...

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and the anti-colonialist values of Official Ireland, further influenced his contempt for what he perceived as the mass

Secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

and greed-inspired

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

beginning in the 1960s. His views on this era are best expressed in his poems ''Éire ina bhfuil romhainn'' ("Ireland in the Times Ahead") and ''Mar chaitheamar an choinneal'' ("As We Spent the Candle"). As he grew older, Ó Direáin increasingly mixed his literary and formalist idiom, the heart of which still remained, "the spoken language of the

", with much older influences, such as traditional bardic poetry in Classical Gaelic by Pádraigín Haicéad and Dáibhí Ó Bruadair, the 17th-century

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

translation of the

Christian Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

by Bishop William Bedell, as well as Patrick Dinneen's 1904 and 1927 dictionaries. Another influence upon Ó Direáin as he aged was the

Postmodern literature Postmodern literature is a form of literature that is characterized by the use of metafiction, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, and intertextuality, and which often thematizes both historical and political issues. This style of experimen ...

and Irish language poetry composed by Casla,

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

native and Tallaght schoolteacher Caitlín Maude. Furthermore, during the early 1980s, Ó Direáin chose to take the risks of crossing what was still a "hard border" and the danger of falling victim to the ongoing

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

violence by

Ulster Loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

s during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. Ó Direáin travelled to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and gave a poetry reading at the Cumann Chluain Ard, an urban

language revival Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community group ...

club in the

Ulster Irish Ulster Irish ( or , ) is the variety of Irish language, Irish spoken in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. It "occupies a central position in the Goidelic languages, Gaelic world made up of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man". Uls ...

-speaking Gaeltacht Quarter of West

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. In a November 1984 lecture in Ó Direáin's presence, Desmond Egan commented, "I have long considered him not only the finest Irish poet, writing in Irish, of our times; but more: that very embodiment of that Irish civilisation and ethos, that precious ''cultura'' which has now become a threatened species, the survival of which is by no means assured. Ó Direáin could - and with more justification than the Englishman - adopt

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychology, psychologic ...

's claim during The Great War to be, 'the civilisation for which you are fighting.'"

Personal life

According to his English translator Frank Sewell, "It is evident from the poems that an early love affair and broken relationship haunts many of Ó Direáin's poems, even if he remains circumspect about the identity of the particular Aran-island Beatrice dei Bardi or Maude Gonne who set him off on the well-worn poets' path of longing for an absent Muse." Máirtín Ó Direáin married Áine Colivet, a Dublin native of French descent, in 1945. They had one child, a daughter named Niamh Ní Dhireáin, in 1947. Ó Direáin's wife died in 1976.

Death

His literary awards include the An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council Awards (1964 and 1971); the Butler Prize, with Eoghan Ó Tuairisc (1967); the Ossian-Preis für Dichtung from the Freiherr vom Stein Foundation in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

(1977). He was also a member of Aosdána. Máirtín Ó Direáin died in Dublin on 19 March 1988. The texts of a series of lectures that Máirtín Ó Direáin had delivered on his own work in

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 ...

in 1969, were later edited by Eoghan Ó hAnluain and published posthumously in 2002 as ''Ón ulán ramhar siar''.

Legacy

''Carraig agus cathair: Ó Direáin'' is a recent (2002) biography. Its title ('The Rock and the City') refers to Ó Direáin's journey from his native rocky island to

, where he lived most of his life. An Charraig Stoite (The Uprooted Rock) is a 2003 award-nominated TG4/ Bord Scannán na hÉireann funded documentary on Máirtín Ó Direáin which was written by Alan Titley and produced and directed by Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín. On 27 May 2010,

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of Mail, postal services in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provide ...

(the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

) issued a single stamp to commemorate the birth centenary of Máirtín Ó Direáin featuring a portrait of the poet. In 2018, the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

, celebrated the 30th anniversary of Ó Direáin's passing by making him one of the main themes of their annual celebration of Seachtain na Gaeilge. The title of the event and exhibit, which drew on university, State, and private archives, was ''"Máirtín Ó Direáin – Fathach File'' / Reluctant Modernist". Ó Direáin's daughter Niamh (née Ní Dhireáin) Sheridan, spoke at the event and was joined by her daughter and her grandson.

Legacy in Irish traditional music

Six of Ó Direáin's poems have been put to music by Irish traditional musician

Colm Ó Snodaigh Colm (; ) is a masculine given name of Irish origin. It is not an Irish version of ''Colin'', but like '' Callum'' and ''Malcolm'' derives from a Gaelic variation on ''columba'', the Latin word for " dove". The reason for the name's use for o ...

of the music group Kíla: '' Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa'', ''Maith Dhom'', ''Bua na Mara'', ''Dínit an Bhróin'', ''"An tEarrach Thiar"'' and ''Bí i do Chrann''. The first three were recorded on '' Handel's Fantasy'', ''Luna Park'' (two Kíla albums) and ''

Giving Giving may refer to: * Gift, the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return * Generosity, the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return * Charity (practice) Charity is the Volunteering, vol ...

'' - Colm Ó Snodaigh's 2007 solo album. Another more recent musical setting of ''Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa'' was composed by Zoë Conway and her husband John McIntyre, who first recorded their arrangement as part of the album ''Allt'', which is a collaboration with Scottish traditional musician Julie Fowlis and her husband Éamonn Doorley. A native speaker of the

North Uist North Uist (; ) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist are described as one isla ...

dialect of

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

, Julie Fowlis has performed the song alongside them, alternating verses in Scottish Gaelic with Zoë Conway singing the original Connacht Irish. Conway and McIntyre's musical setting of Ó Direáin's poem remains a very popular one, and they often perform it together on the concert stage.

In translation

* In 2020, a collection of Ó Direáin's poems in Connaught Irish, along with translations into English by Frank Sewell, were published by

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

Press. * In 2021,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

-based poet Margaret Noodin was inspired, after hearing Zoë Conway and John McIntyre's musical setting, to translate Máirtín Ó Direáin's poem ''Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa'' from Connaught Irish into the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

. In an essay about her translation, Noodin drew parallels between the ongoing

efforts by both the

and the Ojibwe people, which are both, she explained, an effort to reverse the damage done by

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

, linguistic imperialism, and the coercive

Anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

of the educational system.Niwii-aabiziwinge (I will find Solace)
from Ojibwe.net

Bibliography

His main works include the poetry collections: *''Coinnle Geala'' (1942) *''Dánta Aniar'' (1943) *''Rogha Dánta'' (1949) *''Ó Mórna agus Dánta Eile'' (1957) *''Ár Ré Dhearóil'' (1962) *''Cloch Choirnéil'' (1967) *''Crainn is Cairde'' (1970) *''Dánta 1939-79'' (1980) *''Ceacht an Éin'' (1984) *''Béasa an Túir'' (1984) *''Tacar Dánta/Selected Poems'' (1984) *''Craobhóg: Dán'' (1986) *''Fear Lásta Lampaí'' (1928 - i nGaillimh/in Galway) His autobiographical essays are collected as ''Feamainn Bhealtaine'' (1961). * Iníon Rí na Spáinne (1952) Translation

References

Bibliography

External links

Short Aosdána biography

* Máirtín O'Direáin a
The Teresa Deevy Archive
* Máirtín O'Direáin Irish poem
An tEarrach Thiar Irish poem with English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODireain, Mairtin 1910 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Irish civil servants 20th-century Irish-language poets 20th-century Irish poets 20th-century Irish male writers Aosdána members Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Civil servants from Dublin (city) Irish Catholic poets Irish modernist poets Irish civil servants Irish male poets People from the Aran Islands Translators to Irish Writers from County Galway