Pádraic Ó Conaire | |
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| Born | Patrick Joseph Conroy 20 February 1882 Galway, Ireland |
| Died | 6 October 1928(1928-10-06) (aged 46) Dublin, Ireland |
| Pen name | None |
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| Language | Irish |
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| Notable works | |
| Spouse | Molly Ní Mhanais |
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Pádraic Ó Conaire (28 February 1882 – 6 October 1928) was an Irish writer andjournalist whose production was primarily in theIrish language.[1] In his lifetime he wrote 26 books, 473 stories, 237 essays and 6 plays.[2] His acclaimed novelDeoraíocht has been described byAngela Bourke as 'the earliest example of modernist fiction in Irish'.[3]
Ó Conaire was born in the Lobster Pot public house on the New Docks[4] inGalway on 28 February 1882.[5] His father was apublican, who owned two premises in the town. His mother was Kate McDonagh. He was orphaned by the age of eleven. He spent a period living with his uncle in Gairfean,Ros Muc, Connemara. The area is in theGaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) and Ó Conaire learned to speak Irish fluently.
He emigrated to London in 1899 where he got a job with theBoard of Education. He became involved in the work of theGaelic League. A pioneer in theGaelic revival in the last century, Ó Conaire andPádraig Pearse are regarded as being the two most important Irish language short story writers during the first decades of the 20th century.
He was married to Molly Ní Mhanais, with whom he had four children: Eileen (born 22 February 1905), Patrick (born 3 November 1906), Kathleen (born 24 February 1909), and Mary Josephine (28 July 1911 – 1922) who died ofdiphtheria.
Ó Conaire returned to Ireland in 1914, leaving his family in London. Living mostly in Galway, he earned a meagre living through writing, teaching at Gaeltacht summer schools, and as an occasional organiser for the Gaelic League.
He died on a visit to Dublin in 1928 after complaining of internal pains while at the head office of the Gaelic League. He was 46. He is buried inBohermore Cemetery,Galway.
His fellow poetFrederick Robert Higgins wrote a celebratedLament for Pádraic Ó Conaire.
He has family still living to this day in England, as well as in Galway and Canada. The Ó Conaire surname is still strong in the Ros Muc area.
Ó Conaire's short storyM'asal Beag Dubh was the inspiration for an Internet-based satire on the football transfer market. The fictitious characterMasal Bugduv was created. The name sounds similar to the Gaelic pronunciation ofM'asal Beag Dubh. Journalists who did not fact-check quite as thoroughly as they should have missed the satire and told the world of the up-and-coming Moldovan star.[6]
A statue of Ó Conaire was made byAlbert Power and unveiled in 1935 byÉamon de Valera inEyre Square in the heart of Galway City. It was popular with tourists until it was decapitated by four men in 1999.[7] It was repaired at a cost of £50,000 and moved to Galway City Museum in 2004.[8] A bronze replica of the statue was unveiled in Eyre Square in November 2017.[9]
The following is a selection of Ó Conaire's notable works which have been republished, have won awards, been translated, or gained attention in the national press.
A collection translated into English was published asThe Finest Stories of Padraic O Conaire, in 1982. The collection includes all the stories fromScothscéalta plus a few more. Some editions contain 15 stories, others contain 16, the additional story beingThe Bishop's Soul translated to English byBreandán Ó hEithir.
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