Máirtín Ó Direáin
Máirtín Ó Direáin (; 29 November 1910 – 19 March 1988) was an Irish poet from the Aran Islands Gaeltacht. Along with Seán Ó Ríordáin and Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Ó Direáin was, in the words of Louis de Paor, "one of a trinity of poets who revolutionised Irish language poetry in the 1940s and 50s." Biography. Ó Direáin was born in Sruthán on Inis Mór in the Aran Islands and was educated at Onaght national school. The son of a small farmer, Máirtín Ó Direáin grew up as a monoglot and spoke only Connaught Irish until his mid -teens. Like many other Irish poets and writers of the post-Independence era, Ó Direáin worked in the Irish civil service from 1928 until 1975. In 1952, he translated a play by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy for Radio Eireann; the play was called "The King of Spain's Daughter" (translated as "Iníon Rí na Spáinne"). His literary awards include the An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council Awards (1964 and 1971); the Butler Prize, with Eoghan Ó Tuairisc (1967); the Ossian Prize for Poetry, FVS Foundation, Hamburg (1977). He was a member of Aosdána. While Ó Direáin was rooted deeply in  the Gaelic tradition, his poetry also shows influence from wider European writers. His influences included Nietzsche, Spengler, Yeats, Haicéad, Ó Bruadair, Bedell and Shakespeare. Legacy. "Carraig agus cathair: Ó Direáin" is a recent (2002) biography. Its title ('Rock and City') refers to Ó Direáin's journey from his native rocky island to Dublin, where he lived most of his life. An Charraig Stoite (The Uprooted Rock) is a 2003 award-nominated TG4/Bord Scannán na hÉireann funded documentary on Máirtín Ó Direáin which was written by Alan Titley and produced and directed by Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín. On 27 May  2010, An Post (the Republic of Ireland's Post Office) issued a single stamp to commemorate the birth centenary of Máirtín Ó Direáin featuring a portrait of the poet. Legacy in Irish traditional music. Six of Ó Direáin's poems have been put to music by Irish traditional musician Colm Ó Snodaigh of the music group Kíla: "Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa", "Maith Dhom", "Bua na Mara", "Dínit an Bhróin", ""An tEarrach Thiar"" and "Bí i do Chrann". The first three were recorded on "Handel's Fantasy", "Luna Park" (two Kíla albums) and "Giving" - Colm Ó Snodaigh's 2007 solo album. Another  more recent musical setting of "Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa" was composed by Zoë Conway and her husband John McIntyre, who first recorded their arrangement as part of the album "Allt", which is a collaboration with Scottish traditional musician Julie Fowlis and her husband Éamonn Doorley. Conway and McIntyre's musical setting of Ó Direáin's poem remains a very popular one, and they often perform it together on the concert stage. Despite being a native speaker of the North Uist dialect of Scottish Gaelic, Julie Fowlis has performed the song alongside them and has alternated with Zoë Conway in singing the  verses in Connaught Irish. Bibliography. His main works include the poetry collections: His autobiographical essays are collected as "Feamainn Bhealtaine" (1961).