Máirtín Ó Direáin

This article uses bare URLs, which may be threatened by link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation). (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

show This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (September 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Italian article. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 2,226 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at [[:it:Máirtín Ó Direáin]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|it|Máirtín Ó Direáin}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Máirtín Ó Direáin (Irish pronunciation: [ˈmˠaːɾʲtʲiːnʲ oː ˈdʲɪɾʲaːnʲ]; 29 November 1910 – 19 March 1988) was an Irish poet. A native of the Aran Islands Gaeltacht, Ó Direáin later spent time working in Galway and Dublin, where he upheld a connection to Gaelic affairs through Conradh na Gaeilge and Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe. A significant theme of his poetic works deals with the tensions between the urban and rural, modernity and tradition, the English-speaking world and Gaeldom.

Biography[]

Ó Direáin was born in Sruthán on Inis Mór in the Aran Islands.^[1] He was educated at Onaght national school.^[2] The son of a small farmer, Máirtín Ó Direáin spoke only Irish until his mid-teens.^[3] He worked as a civil servant from 1928 until 1975. In 1952, he translated a play by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy for Radio Eireann; the play was called The King of Spain's Daughter^[4] (translated as Iníon Rí na Spáinne).^[5]

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 Prize for Poetry, FVS Foundation, Hamburg (1977). He was a member of Aosdána.

While Ó Direáin was rooted deeply in the Gaelic tradition, his poetry also shows influence from wider European writers. His influences included Nietzsche, Spengler, Yeats, Haicéad, Ó Bruadair, Bedell and Shakespeare.

Legacy[]

Carraig agus cathair: Ó Direáin is a recent (2002) biography. Its title ('Rock and City') refers to Ó Direáin's journey from his native rocky island to Dublin, where he lived most of his life.

(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 .

On 27 May 2010, An Post (the Republic of Ireland's Post Office) issued a single stamp to commemorate the birth centenary of Máirtín Ó Direáin featuring a portrait of the poet.^[6] Six of his poems have been put to music by Colm Ó Snodaigh from the music group Kíla: , Maith Dhom, Bua na Mara, Dínit an Bhróin, "An tEarrach Thiar" and Bí i do Chrann. The first three have been recorded on , Luna Park (two Kíla albums) and - Colm's solo album from 2007.

Bibliography[]

His main works include the poetry collections:

• Rogha Dánta (1949)
• Ó Mórna agus Dánta Eile (1957)
• Ar 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[]

• Ó Direáin, Máirtín (1910-1988) at ainm.ie
• Short Aosdána biography
• Brief biographical material and sample poem
• Máirtín O'Direáin at The Teresa Deevy Archive