Liam Ó Rinn facts for kids

Liam Ó Rinn (born William J. Ring on November 20, 1886 – died October 3, 1943) was an important Irish writer and translator. He also used the pen name Coinneach. He worked for the government and is most famous for translating "The Soldier's Song" into Irish. This Irish version, called "Amhrán na bhFiann", became the national anthem of Ireland and is now much more well-known than the original English song by Peadar Kearney.

Liam Ó Rinn's Life and Work

Early Life and Learning

Liam Ó Rinn was born in Ballybough, a part of Dublin, Ireland. He was one of six children. His father, Patrick Ring, was a police officer from Kilkenny. His mother, Elizabeth Griffith, was from Laytown, County Meath.

Liam went to school at St. Joseph's C.B.S. in Fairview. When he was 14, he left school to work as a clerk for a lawyer. He was very interested in the Irish language. He studied Irish with the Gaelic League, a group that worked to promote and preserve the Irish language. He worked for the Gaelic League from about 1907 to 1920.

Involvement in Irish History

Liam Ó Rinn was involved in important historical events in Ireland. He took part in the Easter Rising in 1916. After this, he was held in a camp called Frongoch until December 1916. He was also held for about a year during the Irish War of Independence.

A Career in Translation

Liam started writing articles in Irish in 1914. He published his first books in 1920. From 1922 to 1924, he translated news stories for a newspaper called the Freeman's Journal.

Later, he began working for the Irish government's translation department. This was for the Free State Oireachtas, which is like the Irish parliament. His job was to translate official documents into Irish. This included important papers like the 1922 constitution and the current 1937 constitution.

Liam was very good at languages. He learned French, German, Spanish, Welsh, and Russian. He used these skills to translate books by many different authors from other countries. In 1920, he married Ellen Fennelly, and they had several children together.

His Impact on Irish Language

People who knew Liam Ó Rinn spoke highly of his work. Piaras Béaslaí, another Irish writer, said that Liam had a very strong and honest opinion about how to promote the Irish language and its literature. He always thought deeply about these topics.

Art Ó Maolfhábhail noted that Liam was important for writing about modern city life in Irish. He even created many new Irish words for things that didn't have Irish names before. This helped the language grow and adapt to the modern world.

Translating the National Anthem: Amhrán na bhFiann

Liam Ó Rinn is most famous for his translation of "The Soldiers' Song" into Irish. This song is known as "Amhrán na bhFiann" and is the national anthem of Ireland.

His translation was first published in a magazine called An tÓglach on November 3, 1923. An almost identical version also appeared in the Freeman's Journal newspaper on April 3, 1923, under his pen name "Coinneach".

Before Liam's translation, other people had tried to translate the song into a more formal, old style of Irish. But Liam chose to use the everyday, living Irish language. This was the language spoken in areas where Irish was still the main language, known as Gaeltacht areas.

His version became very popular. In the 1930s, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) started using Liam's Irish version. They sang it before all their sports matches. Because of this, the Irish version slowly became much more popular than the original English song.

Even though the Irish government never officially adopted Liam's translation, it is widely used. Both the English and Irish words of the anthem are found in official publications, like Facts about Ireland from the Department of Foreign Affairs. They are also on the official website of the Department of the Taoiseach, which is the office of Ireland's Prime Minister.

Liam Ó Rinn's Published Works

Liam Ó Rinn was a very busy writer and translator. Here are some of the works he translated into Irish and some of his own original writings:

Translations into Irish

• The Books of the Polish People and of the Polish Pilgrimage by Adam Mickiewicz
• Prose poems by Ivan Turgenev
• Rise of the Irish Volunteers by Maurice George Moore
• Stars in Their Courses by James Hopwood Jeans
• Intensive Culture of Crops by Henri de Courcy
• Hygiene by Richard Hayes
• Our Country's Story by A. B. Ochiltree Ferguson
• The Law-Suit by Roderich Benedix
• "The Soldier's Song" by Peadar Kearney

Original Works by Liam Ó Rinn

• "Cad ba dhóbair dó" agus sgeulta eile (This means "What almost happened to him" and other stories)
• Turus go Páras (This means "A Trip to Paris")
• Peann agus Pár (This means "Pen and Parchment")
• Mo chara Stiofán (This means "My friend Stephen")

Other Contributions

• Slighe na Saoirse (This was a guide for the Irish Volunteers, explaining how to drill or march)
• So súd (This was a collection of different writings, an anthology)