Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill (; born 1952) is a leading

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 ...

poet.

Biography

Born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, of Irish parents, she moved to Ireland at the age of 5 and was brought up in the Dingle

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...

and in

Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

. Her uncle,

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Pádraig Ó Fiannachta Pádraig Ó Fiannachta (1927 – 15 July 2016) was an Irish-language scholar, poet and priest from the Kerry Gaeltacht. He is perhaps best known for producing a translation of the Christian Bible into the Irish language. Biography Ó Fiannachta ...

Dingle Dingle (Irish language, Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coas ...

, was a leading authority on

Munster Irish Munster Irish () is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Munster. Gaeltacht regions in Munster are found in the Gaeltachtaí of the Dingle Peninsula in west County Kerry, in the Iveragh Peninsula in south Kerry, in Cape ...

. Her mother brought her up to speak English, though she was an Irish speaker herself. Her father and his side of the family spoke very fluent Irish and used it every day, but her mother thought it would make life easier for Nuala if she spoke English instead. She studied English and Irish at UCC in 1969 and became part of the '

Innti ''Innti'' was a literary movement of poets writing Modern literature in Irish, associated with a journal of the same name founded in 1970 by Michael Davitt, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Gabriel Rosenstock, Louis de Paor and Liam Ó Muirthile. These ...

' group of poets. In 1973, she married Turkish geologist Doğan Leflef and lived abroad in Turkey and Holland for seven years. One year after her return to

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

in 1980, she published her first collection of poetry in Irish, ''An Dealg Droighin'' (1981); She later became a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

. Ní Dhomhnaill has published extensively and her works include poetry collections, children's plays, screenplays, anthologies, articles, reviews and essays. Her other works include ''Féar Suaithinseach'' (1984); ''Feis'' (1991), and ''Cead Aighnis'' (1998). Ni Dhomhnaill's poems appear in English translation in the dual-language editions ''Rogha Dánta/Selected Poems'' (1986, 1988, 1990); ''The Astrakhan Cloak'' (1992), ''Pharaoh's Daughter'' (1990), ''The Water Horse'' (2007), and ''The Fifty Minute Mermaid'' (2007). ''Selected Essays'' appeared in 2005. Dedicated to the Irish language, she writes poetry exclusively in Irish and is quoted as saying ‘Irish is a language of beauty, historical significance, ancient roots and an immense propensity for poetic expression through its everyday use’. Ní Dhomhnaill also speaks English, Turkish, French, German and Dutch fluently. Ní Dhomhnaill's writings focus on the rich traditions and heritage of Ireland and draw upon themes of ancient

Irish folklore Irish folklore ( ga, béaloideas) refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance, and so forth, ultimately, all of folk culture. Irish folklore, when mentioned to many people, conjures up images of banshees, fairies, leprechauns and people gath ...

and mythology combined with contemporary themes of femininity, sexuality and culture. Her myth poems express an alternative reality and she speaks of her reasons for writing about myths as those that are an integral part of the Irish language and Irish culture. ‘Myth is a basic, fundamental structuring of our reality, a narrative that we place on the chaos of sensation to make sense of our lives’.

Personal life

Ní Dhomhnaill's husband died in 2013. She currently lives near

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

with two of her children and is a regular broadcaster on Irish radio and television.

Awards and honours

Ní Dhomhnaill has received many scholarships, prizes, and

bursaries A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...

. She has also won numerous international awards for works which have been translated into French, German, Polish, Italian, Norwegian, Estonian, Japanese and English. She is one of Ireland's most well-known Irish language writers. She was Ireland Professor of Poetry from 2001 to 2004, and the first Professor of Irish (language) Poetry. Her papers are collected at Boston College's Burns Library. In March 2018, she received the

Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award The Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award (Polish: ''Międzynarodowa Nagroda Literacka im. Zbigniewa Herberta'') is a Polish international literature prize established in 2013 in Warsaw and named after a Polish poet, essayist, and morali ...

for her achievements in poetry.

Publications

Poetry: main collections

* An Dealg Droighin (Cló Mercier, 1981) * Féar Suaithinseach (Maigh Nuad, 1984) * Feis (Maigh Nuad, 1991) * Pharaoh's Daughter (1990) * The Astrakhan Cloak (1992, Translated by Paul Muldoon) * Spíonáin is Róiseanna (Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1993) * Cead Aighnis (An Sagart, An Daingean, 1998) * The Water Horse: Poems in Irish (Gallery, 1999, Aistriúcháin le Medbh McGuckian agus Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin) * Northern Lights (Gallery Press, 2018)

Poetry: selected editions

* Rogha Dánta/Selected Poems (Raven Arts, 1986, Translated by Michael Hartnett)

Essay Collections

* Selected Essays (New Island, 2005) * Cead Isteach / Entry Permitted (University College Dublin Press, 2017)

Plays

* Jimín (Children's drama, Dublin, 1985)

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Dhomhnaill, Nuala 1952 births 20th-century Irish-language poets 20th-century Irish people Alumni of University College Cork Aosdána members Irish women poets Living people People from Dingle Writers from Lancashire