Síle Ní Chéileachair (1924 – 1985) was an Irish short story writer who wrote 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 ...

. She was one of the authors of a highly regarded collection published jointly with her brother,

Donncha Ó Céileachair Donncha Ó Céileachair (1918 – 1960) was a prominent writer in the Irish language. He and his sister, Síle Ní Chéileachair, published an influential collection of short stories, and he was also notable as a biographer and travel writer. ...

. She was born on 25 July 1924 in

Cúil Aodha Cúil Aodha (), anglicised as Coolea, is a townland and village in the Gaeltacht region of Muskerry in County Cork, Ireland. The area is near the source of the River Sullane in the Derrynasaggart Mountains. Geography Cúil Aodha townland is i ...

, an Irish-speaking district in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. She trained as a teacher at

Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College (''Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál''), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and subsequently taught at

Harold's Cross Harold's Cross () is an affluent urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the postal district List of Dublin postal districts, D6W. The River Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underg ...

and at

Crumlin, Dublin Crumlin () is a Southside (Dublin), Southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Formerly a rural area, it became heavily built up from the early 20th century onwards. Crumlin is the site of Ireland's largest children's hospital, Ou ...

. In 1953 she married Dónal Ó Cochláin and they had three sons and three daughters. The household lived 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 ...

. She and her brother were involved with Cumann na Scríbhneoirí (The Irish-language Writers’ Association) in Dublin in the nineteen fifties. She won a prize for a short story at the 1950

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 ...

, and in 1955 she and Donncha published ''Bullaí Mhártain'', an acclaimed collection of 14 stories dealing with urban and rural themes. This collection has been praised for its concise style and broad range of subject matter.Bannister, Garry, ‘Gnéithe den Litríocht san Fhichiú hAois’
/ref> She died on 26 August 1985 and was buried at Bohernabreena in Dublin.

Notes

1924 births 1985 deaths Irish-language writers 20th-century Irish short story writers Irish women short story writers Writers from County Cork 20th-century Irish women writers Alumni of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick {{Ireland-writer-stub