Sorcha Ní Ghuairim (11 October 1911 – 1976) was a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, writer, and sean-nós singer.

Life

Sorcha Ní Ghuairim was born in Roisín na Manach, Carna in the

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, ...

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 ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

on 11 October 1911. Her parents were Máirtín Gorham and Catherine Burke. She was the youngest of their 11 children. Ní Ghuairim was particularly well known as a singer. She joined her sister

Máire Ní Ghuairim Máire Ní Ghuairim (6 July 1896 – 15 October 1964) was an Irish teacher, writer and Sean-nós singing, sean-nós singer. Biography Born in Roisin na Manach, Carna, County Galway, Carna, County Galway, the eldest daughter of Mairtin Gorham ...

, 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 ...

in 1928 and obtained a teaching post with

Conradh na Gaeilge (; 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 emer ...

. She studied 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 ...

with Tomás Ó Máille. An active promoter of the Irish

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 ...

, she wrote a column for ''

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (irish language, Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published o ...

'' under the name "Coisín Siúlach". She also wrote a column regularly for the children's page under the name "Niamh Chinn Óir", and later became an editor of the paper. She taught the Irish language at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. She recorded her first album, ''Sorcha Ní Ghuairim Sings Traditional Irish Songs'', issued as Folkways Records FW06861, while visiting her brother in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1945. She moved to

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in 1955, apparently disillusioned with the future of the Irish language. She was found dead in her apartment in London, and appeared to have been dead for a period of time. Some sources do not state an exact date of death, where others give it as 15 December 1976. She was buried in Carna on 24 December 1976. The

National University of Ireland, 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 ...

's outreach centre in Carna is named in her honour, Áras Shorcha Ní Ghuairim. In 2007, a documentary on Ní Ghuairim was aired on

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

, ''An Lorg Shorcha''.

References

* ''Dictionary of Irish Biography ... to the Year 2002'', p. 937, Cambridge, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Ghuairim, Sorcha 1911 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Irish women singers 20th-century Irish women writers Alumni of the University of Galway Irish columnists The Irish Press people Irish-language writers People from County Galway Sean-nós singers Irish women columnists Writers from County Galway People of Connemara