Micheál Ó Conghaile (born 1962) is an

Irish-language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenou ...

writer who lives in Indreabhán,

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland. He was born on the island of Inishtravin in Conamara and was raised in an Irish-speaking community.

Cló Iar-Chonnacht

In 1985 Ó Conghaile founded the Irish-language publishing company

Cló Iar-Chonnacht Cló Iar-Chonnacht (CIC; ; "West Connacht Press") is an Irish language publishing company founded in 1985 by writer Micheál Ó Conghaile, a native speaker of Irish from Inis Treabhair in Connemara. He set the company up while still a student. ...

. It publishes books, music and spoken word albums. It is one of the few such companies that employ full-time editors, and he founded it because many

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

poets and writers were still unpublished. He believes in the importance of publishing both popular works and those with a very high literary standard.Breandán Delap
interview with Micheál Ó Conghaile
''Beo'', Eagrán 112, Lúnasa, 2010: "Tá a fhios agam go raibh easpa mór leabhair Ghaeilge ann blianta ó shin, ach tá réimse leathan go maith ann anois agus sílim go bhfuil dualgas orainn caighdeán níos airde a bheith againn ná mar a bhíodh ann, b’fhéidir deich nó fiche bliain ó shin." His own work includes short stories, a novel, drama, poetry and history. He has translated

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...

's plays ''

The Beauty Queen of Leenane ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' is a 1996 dramatic play by Martin McDonagh which was premiered by the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland. It also enjoyed successful runs at London's West End, Broadway and Off-Broadway. The original Lo ...

'' and '' The Lonesome West''. Ó Conghaile's awards include The Butler Literary Award of the Irish American Cultural Institute (1997) and the 1997 Hennessy Literary Award for his short story "Athair"."Ó Conghaile, Micheál"
Irish Writers Online (a concise dictionary of Irish writers). He was a writer in residence at

Queen's University, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, and at the University of Ulster at Coleraine between 1999 and 2002. His works have been translated into

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, Croatian,

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, German and English.

Bibliography

* ''Mac an tSagairt'', Gallimh, Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 1986 * ''Comhrá Caillí'', 1987 * ''Up Seanamhach!'', 1990 * ''Conamara agus Árainn 1880–1980'', 1993 * ''Gnéithe d’Amhráin Chonamara ár Linne'', 1993 * ''An Fear a Phléasc'', 1997 * ''Sna Fir'', 1999 * ''Seachrán Jeaic Sheáin Johnny'', 2002 * ''An Fear nach nDéanann Gáire'', 2003 * ''Cúigear Chonamara''/''The Connemara Five'', Úna Ní Chonchúir, 2007 * ''Jude/Gaeilgeoir Deireanach Charna/Incubus'', with Breandán Ó hEaghra and Caitríona Ní Chonaola, 2007 * ''Cúigear Chonamara''/''The Connemara Five'', Úna Ní Chonchúir, 2007 * ''Go dTaga do Ríocht'', 2009 * ''Na Trí Mhialtóg'', 2012 * ''Diabhlaíocht Dé'', 2015 * ''Sa Teach Seo Anocht'', 2019 * ''Nollaig Oileánach'', 2022 * ''An Bhlaosc sa mBois'', 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConghaile, Micheal Writers from County Galway Irish publishers (people) 1962 births Living people 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Irish-language writers