Peadar Ó Doirnín (c. 1700 – 1769), also known in English as Peter O'Dornin, was an Irish schoolteacher, Irish language poet and songwriter who spent much of his life in south-east Ulster.[1]
Biography
Ó Doirnín was born c.1700 possibly near Dundalk in County Louth.[1] He was a teacher and the master of a number of hedge schools in Counties Louth and Armagh.[1] He died at Forkill in 1769 and his elegy was composed by fellow poet Art Mac Cumhaigh.[2] Ó Doirnín is buried in Urnaí graveyard in north County Louth.[3][4] The Forkhill Peadar Ó Doirnín GAA club was named to commemorate the poet.[5]
Works
As a poet, and along with Art Mac Cumhaigh, Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna and Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta, Ó Doirnín was part of the Airgíalla tradition of Modern literature in Irish, particularly in poetry and song.[6] His poetry and writings were collected from the local oral tradition and first published in the 19th and 20th centuries.[7]
One of his poems, Mná na hÉireann, was later set to music composed by Seán Ó Riada and has been recorded by a number of 20th century artists including Kate Bush and Sinéad O'Connor.[8] Other songs, such as Úrchnoc Chéin mhic Cáinte, make classic Gaelic appeals for a return to the solitude of nature.[9][failed verification]
Reputedly, due to the erotic poetry of Úrchnoc Chéin mhic Cáinte, Ó Doirnín was removed from one of his teaching jobs.[10] Other poems by Ó Doirnín are described (for example in his Dictionary of Irish Biography entry) as humorous, bawdy and satirical, sometimes targeting other poets, Roman Catholic priests and fellow hedge school teachers.[1]
Collections
- Breandán Ó Buachalla (1969). Peadar Ó Doirnín: Amhráin. ISBN 9781851826858. OCLC 246066974.
- Seán de Rís (1969). Peadar Ó Doirnín, a bheatha agus a shaothar. ISBN 9781851826858. OCLC 5119451.