Pádraic Ó Conaire

Pádraic Ó Conaire, 
(28 February 1882 – 6 October 1928), was only 46 when he died suddenly in Dublin while visiting his employer, The Gaelic League. Born in his father's house, a bar on the docks in Galway, he was orphaned by age 11 and moved to his uncle's house in Rosmuc where he became fluent in Irish. He moved to London in 1899 and started writing in the Irish language there. He married, had 4 children and moved back to Galway in 1914, writing many books and stories, he was perhaps the first modern writer of fiction in Irish. The then Taoiseach Eamon De Valera had the first statue of him erected in Eyre Square in 1935, which was removed for safety to the Galway museum some 15 years ago after being decapitated by some over-friendly students, and was only replaced by the new green statue in the square two years ago. 


I missed his exact anniversary, 6 October, but wanted to mark this largely forgotten Galway writer's 91st anniversary with a post and a few photos. I must confess, I never warmed to the few pieces of his huge trove to work that I read in my student days, but perhaps I will revisit and try again. He lived for a short while in Salthill, roughly where The Nest is located now. He is settled into the square now, though sometimes I think he is pining for the two cannons that used to flank his old statue in the square, but now grace the lawn in front of City Hall today, neither frightening our politicians, city civil servants, nor even wayward Connacht supporters! I think they'd look great planted either side of him, protecting his flanks, painted the same verdis green, they might perhaps scare away the students, and the drug-dealers and make a rather unique, heroic tryphich! 

A paean for the forgotten.

'Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered'

Yes, if they move the cannons back, I promise to read all of Padraic's books. 
Deal?

With apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson.