Press release
Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Dictionary to be Published Online for the First Time
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
The renowned writer collected over 500,000 words
Between 1937 and 1946, the writer Máirtín Ó Cadhain worked under a scheme by An Gúm to collect words and expressions from the Galway Gaeltacht. During that period, Ó Cadhain sent over one million words worth of material to An Gúm, in order, under more than 1,000 headwords.
In addition, he provided examples, based on the lively speech of the locals, as an illustration of the meaning and use of words. These little fragments give us an insight into the ordinary life of the Gaeltacht through the eyes of the great author, who is known for his novels and short stories about life in the Connemara Gaeltacht.
The staff of Foclóir Stairiuil na Gaeilge, in the Royal Irish Academy, have been working to edit and publish the full text of Foclóir Uí Chadhain online for a number of years. The website will be available at focloiruichadhain.ria.ie on the 18th of June 2021. It will be available free of charge, and is an important resource for storytellers, teachers, scholars, researchers and the Irish language community in general.
At a special online event today, the Government's Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers TD, will launch Foclóir Mháirtín Uí Chadhain.
Speaking today, the Minister of State says: “Máirtín Ó Cadhain's work is recognised amongst the best Irish language literature of the 20th century. His book Cré na Cille is one of the most important books written in the language and is world-renowned for its standard of writing. This new dictionary will be a useful resource for teachers, students, writers and the Irish language community. The dictionary gives us an insight into the rich Irish language of Galway and the life of the Gaeltacht as it was at the time. It is extremely important to support this initiative in making this material available to future generations. It is also timely that this part of Ó Cadhain's literary legacy is being published this year as we commemorate his death fifty years ago.”
The dictionary is being published as part of the Foclóir Stairiúil na Gaeilge research project. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media provides funding to the Royal Irish Academy to create a historical dictionary which will provide a comprehensive overview of the meaning and use of the Irish language during the period c.1600-2000. Further information about the project is available at https://www.ria.ie/research-projects/focloir-stairiuil-na-gaeilge .