Seán Ó Tuama (1926 – 14 October 2006) was an Irish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and academic.

Life

Raised in the southern city of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

and educated at the North Monastery (North Mon) school and

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

, Ó Tuama first came to prominence in 1950 with his anthology of modern Irish language poetry titled ''Nuabhéarsaíocht 1939-1949''. Notable academic works include ''An Grá in Amhráin na nDaoine'', an analysis of medieval and Renaissance European influences on Irish song, which is credited as being a source of inspiration for poets including

Liam Ó Muirthile Liam Ó Muirthile (15 November 1950 – 18 May 2018) was a prominent Irish-language poet who also wrote plays and novels, he was also a journalist. Ó Muirthile originally came to the fore as a member of a group of poets from University College Co ...

and Gabriel Rosenstock. The anthology An Duanaire: Poems of the Dispossessed, a collection of poems in the

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 indigenous ...

dating from the 16th to 19th centuries selected by Ó Tuama and accompanied by translations of the poems into English by

Thomas Kinsella Thomas Kinsella (4 May 1928 – 22 December 2021) was an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher. Born outside Dublin, Kinsella attended University College Dublin before entering the civil service. He began publishing poetry in the early ...

, was published in 1981. Ó Tuama was the Professor of Irish Literature at

, and

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Toronto University The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, t ...

. He was also chairman of

Bord na Gaeilge (, " Irish Institute"; ) is a public body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the island of Ireland, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was set up on 2 December 1999, assuming the rol ...

for a time, and a member of the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts". About It was established in 1951 by the government of Ireland, to encourage interest in Irish art ( ...

Awards

* 1983

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

Works

Poetry

* ''Faoileán Na Beatha'' (Baile Átha Cliath, An Chlochomar Tta., 1962) *

Plays

* * Ar aghaidh linn, a Longadáin * Moloney * Is é seo m'oileán * Corp Eoghain Uí Shúilleabháin * Déan trócaire ar shagairt óga * Iúdás Iscariot agus a bhean * Scéal ar Phádraig

Academic works

* ''An Grá in Amhráin na nDaoine'' (An Clochomhar Tta., 1960) * ''An Grá i bhFilíocht na nUaisle'' (1988)

Anthologies

* * Coiscéim na hAoise Seo, an anthology of 20th-century poetry in Irish

Essays

* ''Cúirt, Tuath agus Bruachbhaile'', An Clóchomhar Tta, 1990 * ''Nuabhéarsaíocht 1939-1949'' (as editor, Baile Atha Cliath, Sairseal agus Dill, 1950) * * *

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090717102354/http://www.irishwriters-online.com/seanotuama.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Otuama, Sean 1926 births 2006 deaths Academics of University College Cork Alumni of University College Cork Conradh na Gaeilge presidents Irish male poets Irish male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish-language poets Harvard University staff 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights American Book Award winners