Seán Ó Ríordáin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Seán Ó Ríordáin
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| Native name |
Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin
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| Born | 3 December 1916 Baile Mhúirne, County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 21 February 1977 (aged 60) Glanmire, County Cork, Ireland |
| Occupation | Poet, writer |
| Language | Irish |
| Literary movement | Modernism |
| Notable works | Eireaball Spideoige |
Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin (3 December 1916 – 21 February 1977), sometimes referred to as an Ríordánach, was an Irish language poet and later a newspaper columnist. He is credited with introducing European themes to Irish poetry, and is widely regarded as one of the best Irish language poets of the 20th century.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Ó Ríordáin was the eldest of three children born in Baile Mhúirne, County Cork, to Seán Ó Ríordáin and Máiréad Ní Loineacháin.
English was his first language. His mother spoke English; his father spoke Irish and English. His father's mother, a native Irish speaker, lived next door. His next-door neighbour on the other side also spoke Irish, something Ó Ríordáin attributed to contributing to his own acquisition of Irish. It wasn't long before Ó Ríordáin gained some knowledge of Irish.
When Ó Ríordáin was ten, his father died of tuberculosis. Five years later, in 1932, the family moved to Inniscarra, on the outskirts of Cork city. After settling there, Seán and his brother Tadhg were sent to school in the North Monastery Christian Brothers School, on the northside of Cork city.
Professional career
Ó Ríordáin worked as a clerk in the Cork Motor Tax Office from 1936 until his early retirement due to health issues in 1965. In 1967, Ó Ríordáin was made a part-time lecturer in University College Cork. Between 1969 and 1976. Ó Ríodáin was UCC's writer in residence. Concurrent with his time in UCC, he wrote a weekly column in The Irish Times, which he continued until 1975.
Health issues
Ó Ríordáin contracted pneumonia at the age of thirteen, and was afterwards ill for most of his life. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1938, and made frequent visits to sanatoria throughout his life thereafter. Ó Ríordáin never married, and died in Sarsfield Court Hospital in 1977. He is interred in St. Gobnait's cemetery, Baile Mhúirne, alongside his father and paternal grandparents.
Poetic works
Eireaball Spideoige
Eireaball Spideoige (A Robin's Tail) is Ó Ríordáin's first and largest collection of poetry, published in 1952. It was published by Sáirséal agus Dill who would serve as publishers for all of his later works as well. Eireaball Spideoige contains Ó Ríordáin's best known poem, Adhlacadh mo Mháthar (My Mother's Burial), from which the collection's title is derived. Adhlacadh mo Mháthair is an intimate exploration of Ó Ríordáin's grief following the death of his mother. According to scholar Louis de Paor, this poem created a new frisson in Irish language poetry when this poem was first published in 1945. In the introduction to Eireaball Spideoige Ó Ríordáin describes his poetry as an attempt to capture "the immediacy of the moment". In the preface he asks "What is poetry?", and answers "A child's mind."
Though now regarded as an integral part of the Irish literary canon, Eireaball Spideoige received mixed reviews on publication in 1952, being criticized for its deviation from traditional Irish poetry in terms of subject matter and personal use of language.
Other Works
Three booklets of Ó Ríordáin's poetry were subsequently published: Brosna (Kindling) in 1964, Línte Liombó (Limbo Lines) in 1971, and the posthumous Tar éis mo Bháis (After my Death) in 1978. His later works are marked by a notable dropping of the sentimentality and romanticism of his first collection. In Brosna Ó Ríordáin examines his difficult relationship with the Irish language, and in Línte Liombó he details the conquering of the individual by dispassionate destiny. His collected poems were released in 2011, under the title Na Dánta.
Popular Poems
Ó Ríordáin's poems have enjoyed constant popularity, due in part to the exposure gained by the inclusion of his work in the standard Irish curriculum. Poems such as "Fill Arís", "Cúl an Tí" and "Tost" are widely known, and "Fill Arís" was short-listed in a competition run by RTÉ in 2015 which sought to identify "Ireland's best loved poem". "Toil" is a contemplation on the limitations of human will.
"Cúl an Tí" in particular is often taught in Gaelscoileanna throughout Ireland.
Legacy
The writings of Ó Ríordáin were a "seminal influence" on the Innti poetry movement.
Gaelscoil Uí Ríordáin, an Irish-language primary school in Ballincollig, County Cork, is named after Ó Ríordáin.
