Sean O Riordain
Life and Work
Published on 23. November 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
544 pages
978-1-78117-610-8 (ISBN)
Description
A biography of Sean O Riordain detailing his difficult life and his journey to becoming a pre-eminent Irish-language poet. O Riordain was one of the great Irish-language poets of the twentieth century. Some of his work remains on the standard Irish curriculum. His poem 'Fill Aris' was shortlisted in the Favourite Irish Poems competition recently run by RTE.
The biography was written by noted professor and Irish-language expert, Sean O Coileain.
Sean O Riordain was one of the most important Irish-language poets of the twentieth century. Born in Ballyvourney, Co. Cork, he later moved to Inniscarra on the outskirts of Cork city. His early life was laced with tragedy, such as the death of his father from tuberculosis and the subsequent loss of his mother, which affected him deeply. In a cruel twist of fate, O Riordain was later struck down with the same condition that killed his father. As a result, he was in poor health for much of his adult life.
Through all this, O Riordain found a refuge in writing and started on his journey to becoming a renowned poet. In this exhaustive and wide-ranging literary biography, which offers frequent glimpses into his famed diaries as well as his poems and other writings, we are provided with a vivid portrait of both O Riordain the man and O Riordain the poet.
The biography was written by noted professor and Irish-language expert, Sean O Coileain.
Sean O Riordain was one of the most important Irish-language poets of the twentieth century. Born in Ballyvourney, Co. Cork, he later moved to Inniscarra on the outskirts of Cork city. His early life was laced with tragedy, such as the death of his father from tuberculosis and the subsequent loss of his mother, which affected him deeply. In a cruel twist of fate, O Riordain was later struck down with the same condition that killed his father. As a result, he was in poor health for much of his adult life.
Through all this, O Riordain found a refuge in writing and started on his journey to becoming a renowned poet. In this exhaustive and wide-ranging literary biography, which offers frequent glimpses into his famed diaries as well as his poems and other writings, we are provided with a vivid portrait of both O Riordain the man and O Riordain the poet.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cork
Ireland
Dimensions
Height: 138 mm
Width: 215 mm
Thickness: 47 mm
Weight
594 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78117-610-8 (9781781176108)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Author:
Sean O Coileain was an Emeritus Professor of Modern Irish at University College, Cork. He completed his PhD at Harvard University in 1972. He briefly worked alongside his subject Sean O Riordain in the Irish Department in UCC in the 1970s.
Translator:
Dr Micheal O hAodha was born in Galway, Ireland, the eldest of eleven children and grew up in the west of Ireland and the north of England. He is a poet who writes in Irish. A recent book, Leabhar na nAistear (The Book of Journeys), explores feelings of loss and longing, silence and speech, memory and forgetting, as associated with the emigrant experience in Britain. He also lectures in the University of Limerick in the Departments of History and Comparative Literature.
Sean O Coileain was an Emeritus Professor of Modern Irish at University College, Cork. He completed his PhD at Harvard University in 1972. He briefly worked alongside his subject Sean O Riordain in the Irish Department in UCC in the 1970s.
Translator:
Dr Micheal O hAodha was born in Galway, Ireland, the eldest of eleven children and grew up in the west of Ireland and the north of England. He is a poet who writes in Irish. A recent book, Leabhar na nAistear (The Book of Journeys), explores feelings of loss and longing, silence and speech, memory and forgetting, as associated with the emigrant experience in Britain. He also lectures in the University of Limerick in the Departments of History and Comparative Literature.
Content
Abbreviations 9
Introduction 11
1 One Morning Long Ago 38
2 From Ballyvourney to Inniscarra 61
3 The Public Self 80
4 In the Valley of Shadows 94
5 None were ever Equal 130
6 The Inner Self 147
7 I Spent Nights House-Calling 241
8 The Choice and the Road Followed 280
9 The Battle Commences 308
10 I Feel Life Falling 350
11 The Hardened Shell 402
12 Slowly, the Night Fell 431
13 Riordanisation and Cat-Scape 493
14 'No Help I'll Call' 515
Bibliography 531
Index 533
Introduction 11
1 One Morning Long Ago 38
2 From Ballyvourney to Inniscarra 61
3 The Public Self 80
4 In the Valley of Shadows 94
5 None were ever Equal 130
6 The Inner Self 147
7 I Spent Nights House-Calling 241
8 The Choice and the Road Followed 280
9 The Battle Commences 308
10 I Feel Life Falling 350
11 The Hardened Shell 402
12 Slowly, the Night Fell 431
13 Riordanisation and Cat-Scape 493
14 'No Help I'll Call' 515
Bibliography 531
Index 533