Máire Ní Chinnéide facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Máire Ní Chinnéide
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Máire Ní Chinéide at her graduation
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| Camogie Association of Ireland | |
| In office 1905–1909 |
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| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Burke-Plunkett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 January 1879 Rathmines, County Dublin |
| Died | 25 May 1967 (aged 88) Dublin, Ireland |
| Spouse | Sean MacGearailt (1878–1955) |
| Children | Niamh NicGearailt |
| Profession | Irish language activist |
Máire Ní Chinnéide (pronounced Maw-ra Nee Kin-ay-da) was an important Irish woman. She was born on January 17, 1879, and passed away on May 25, 1967. Máire was a strong supporter of the Irish language. She also wrote plays and was the very first President of the Camogie Association. She was also the first woman to lead Oireachtas na Gaeilge, a big festival for Irish culture.
Máire was born in Rathmines, a part of Dublin. She went to Muckross Park College and later to the Royal University of Ireland. This university is now known as the National University of Ireland (NUI). She studied alongside other famous women like Agnes O'Farrelly and Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington.
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Learning the Irish Language
Máire learned to speak Irish during her holidays in Ballyvourney. She was very good at it! She even won the first scholarship for Irish from the Royal University. This scholarship was worth £100 a year. She used this money to visit the Irish college in Ballingeary.
She studied Old Irish with Professor Osborn Bergin. She was also greatly inspired by Professor O'Daly, who was an Irish-Australian. Later, Máire taught Latin using Irish at Ballingeary. She also became very good at French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Máire used the last part of her scholarship money for her marriage. She married Sean MacGearailt. He later became the first Accountant General of Revenue in the Irish civil service. They lived first in Glasnevin and then in Dalkey.
She helped start a group called Craobh an Chéitinnigh. This was a branch of the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaelige). This group was known for its smart and active members.
Máire Ní Chinnéide and Camogie
Camogie is a team sport played with a stick and ball, similar to men's hurling. In August 1904, the rules for camogie first appeared in a journal called Banba. This was about six years after the first women's hurling teams were formed. Camogie became well-known when it was shown at the Oireachtas festival that year. It used a lighter ball and a smaller playing field than men's hurling.
Máire Ní Chinnéide and Cáit Ní Dhonnchadha are given credit for creating the game. Cáit was also very interested in the Irish language and culture. Cáit's brother, Tadhg Ó Donnchadha, helped them write the rules. Máire played in the first public camogie match in Navan in July 1904. She became a big supporter of the game. In 1905, she was chosen as the first president of the new Camogie Association.
She wrote that they looked at "all existing games." But they felt that "Hurling was the model" for their new game. Early matches were played in Drumcondra Park. But the players didn't join in large numbers until they moved to the Phoenix Park. There, they found a good playing field away from the main road.
Working with the Gaelic League
Máire later became the Vice-President of Craobh an Chéitinnigh. She worked with Cathal Brugha in this role. She was also active in Cumann na mBan during the Irish War of Independence. This was a time when Ireland fought for its freedom.
During the Irish Civil War, Máire supported the side that wanted the Free State. She even tried to start a women's group to support it. She worked with Jennie Wyse Power on this.
Helping Peig Sayers Write Her Story
In 1932, Máire visited the Blasket Islands with her daughter Niamh. Sadly, Niamh passed away at a young age. In the summer of 1934, Máire had an idea. She knew an older woman named Peig Sayers. Máire suggested that Peig should write her life story.
Máire knew that Peig was a great storyteller. She had a wonderful way of talking and sharing her experiences. Peig first said she had "nothing to write." She had only learned to read and write a little English in school.
Máire suggested that Peig could tell her story to her son Micheal. He was known as An File ("The Poet") on the island. Peig was unsure at first. But at Christmas, a package arrived from the Blaskets. It contained a manuscript. Máire wrote it down exactly as Peig had told it. In the summer, she brought it back to the Blaskets to read to Peig.
Máire then helped prepare the story for publishing. It was published by the Talbot Press. Peig's story became very famous. It was even a required text for students taking the Irish Leaving Certificate exam.
Máire's Writing and Acting
Máire was also involved in acting. In 1901, she acted in the first modern play performed in Irish. It was called Casadh an tSugáin by Douglas Hyde.
Later, Máire wrote plays for children. These plays were performed at the Oireachtas festival and the Peacock Theatre. Two of her plays, Gleann na Sidheóg and An Dúthchas (1908), were published.
She also worked as a broadcaster. She spoke in Irish on 2RN/Radio Éireann after it started in 1926. Máire also translated Grimms' Fairy Tales into Irish in 1923. She was the president of the Gaelic Players Dramatic group in the 1930s. In 1939, she helped start the Gaelic Writers Association.
Máire became very interested in writing children's plays. Some of her plays included "Gleann na Sidheóg" (Fairy Glen) from 1905. Another was "Sidheoga na mBláth" (Flower Fairies) from 1909. When her second play was published in 1907, "Éire Óg" (Young Ireland) groups had started. These were children's branches of the Gaelic League. P.H. Pearse, a famous Irish leader, hoped many of these groups would perform her play. Just one week after it was published, it was performed at the Dominican College in Donnybrook, Dublin. Máire had taught Irish there for several years.
A Lasting Honour
Máire Ní Chinnéide passed away on April 25, 1967. She is buried in Deans Grange Cemetery.
In 2007, a special camogie trophy was named in her honour. It is called the Máire Ní Chinnéide Cup. This cup is awarded to the winners of the annual inter-county All-Ireland Junior B Camogie Championship.
