Louis de Paor facts for kids

Louis de Paor, born in 1961, is a famous poet who writes in the Irish language. He was born in Cork and went to Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh for his education. Louis de Paor also helped edit a special Irish language magazine called Innti. This magazine was started in 1970 by other well-known writers like Michael Davitt and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. He earned a PhD in Modern Irish from the National University of Ireland in 1986. His special research was about another writer named Máirtín Ó Cadhain.

In 1987, Louis de Paor and his family moved to Australia. They lived in Melbourne. While there, he continued to write poems. He also gave poetry readings and spoke in Irish on a radio station called the Special Broadcasting Service. This station was created for people from different cultures and languages. He received special awards called scholarships from the Australia Council in 1990, 1991, and 1995.

Louis de Paor returned to Ireland in 1996. Today, he is the Director of the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway. He has worked with other Irish language writers, like Seán Ó Tuama. Together, they put together a collection of Irish poetry from the 20th century. He has also written academic books.

His Poetry Collections

Louis de Paor has won many awards for his poetry. He has been very successful in the Oireachtas literary competitions. His first collection of poems was called Próca solais is luatha, published in 1988. This book won a prize called Duais an Ríordánaigh. He has won this award many times since then.

Some of his other poetry collections include 30 dán (1992), Corcach agus dánta eile (1999), and Agus rud eile de (2002).

Two of his collections came from his time living in Australia. These were Aimsir bhreicneach / Freckled weather (1993) and Ríleanna báistí (1992). His most recent collection is Agus Rud Eile De/ And Another Thing, published in 2010.

His early poems were known for being light, clear, and easy to understand. Over time, his style became a bit darker and more complex. Many of his poems are published in two languages, both Irish and English.

Working with Artists

Louis de Paor has also worked with traditional musicians. He has collaborated with the piper Ronan Browne. He also worked with Naisrín Elsafty, who is an Irish-Egyptian sean-nós singer. Sean-nós is a very old style of traditional Irish singing.