Literature Matters
Jerry White explores the brilliance of neglected Irish writer Ó Cadhain
Members of the Department of English examine diverse literary topics in this community lecture series featuring refreshments and discussion.
January topic: The Greatest Irish Writer You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: Introducing Máirtín Ó Cadhain by Jerry White
Wednesday, Jan. 15
7:30 pm
Grace-Westminster United Church Social Hall, 505 10th St. E.
Free and open to the public
Info: 306-966-1268 | english.department@usask.ca
This talk will offer an introduction to Máirtín Ó Cadhain, one of the most intriguing and neglected figures of modern Irish literature. When he died in 1970 he had just been appointed Professor of Irish at Trinity College Dublin. That prestigious although short-lived post capped a life that included being interned in the south of Ireland during WWII because of his membership in the IRA, agitating for the creation of a new Irish-speaking community in the rural townland of Ráth Cairn, working as a government translator, and writing the greatest novel the Irish language has ever known.
We'll offer radio snippets, clips from a TV special, and generous helpings from Ó Cadhain's short stories (the form where he really built his career) by way presenting to a hibernophile audience this great voice of the Emerald Isle.