Micheal O'Siadhail

Fuair Micheal O'Siadhail a chuid oideachais ag Coláiste Clongowes Wood, Coláiste na Tríonóide, agus in Ollscoil Oslo. Iarléachtóir i gColáiste na Tríonóide, Ollamh in Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath agus eagarthóir ar Poetry Ireland Review, bhí sé ina chomhalta den Chomhairle Ealaíon (1988–93) agus ar Choiste Chomhairleach um Chaidrimh Chultúrtha (1989–97). Bhí sé ina chathaoirleach bhunaidh ar an Ireland Literature Exchange agus tá sé ina bhall bhunaidh d'Aosdána.

I measc a chnuasaigh filíochta, tá An Bhliain Bhisigh (1978), Runga (1980), Cumann (1982), Springnight (1983), The Image Wheel (1985), The Chosen Garden (1990), Hail! Madam Jazz (1992), A Fragile City (1995), Our Double Time (1998), The Gossamer Wall (2002), Love Life (2005), Globe (2007), Tongues (2010), Once Crimson Thread (2015) agus The Five Quintets (2018). Ar a shaothar acadúil, tá Téarmaí tógálá agus tís as Inis Meáin (1978), Córas Fuaimeanna na Gaeilge (le hArndt Wigger) (1983), Learning Irish (1988) agus Modern Irish: Grammatical Structure and Dialectal Variation (1989).

Tá an iliomad gradam bainte aige, ina measc duais filíochta an Irish American Cultural Institute (1982) agus duais litríochta Marten Toonder (1998). Tá an-chuid léamha agus craolacháin déanta aige in Éirinn, sa Bhreatain, san Eoraip agus i Meiriceá Thuaidh. In 1985 tugadh cuireadh dó léacht Vernam Hull a thabhairt ag Harvard agus léacht Trumbull ag Ollscoil Yale. I 2017 bhronn Ollscoil Manitoba DLitt onórach air.

Micheal O'Siadhail was educated at Clongowes Wood College, Trinity College Dublin, and the University of Oslo. A former lecturer at TCD, professor at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and editor of Poetry Ireland Review, he served on the Arts Council (1988–93) and on the Advisory Committee on Cultural Relations (1989–97). He was the founding chairman of ILE (Ireland Literature Exchange) and a founder member of Aosdána.

A full-time writer, his poetry collections include Springnight (1983), The Image Wheel (1985), The Chosen Garden (1990), Hail! Madam Jazz (1992), A Fragile City (1995), Our Double Time (1998), The Gossamer Wall (2002), Love Life (2005), Globe (2007), Tongues (2010), Once Crimson Thread (2015) and The Five Quintets (2018). Academic works include Learning Irish (1988) and Modern Irish (1989). His poem suites, The Naked Flame, Summerfest and Earlsfort Suite were commissioned and set to music for performance and broadcasting.

Awards include an Irish American Cultural Institute prize for poetry (1982) and the Marten Toonder prize for Literature (1998). He has given poetry readings and broadcast extensively in Ireland, Britain, Europe and North America. In 1985 he was invited to give the Vernam Hull lecture at Harvard and the Trumbull Lecture at Yale University. In 2017 he received an honorary DLitt from the University of Manitoba.

Birth date: 1947

Share this portrait:

Mac

A chomhairle chneasta féin
Do mhac céasta an bhambairne
A chaith laethanta ag braiteoireacht;
Rófhada a staidéar ar thairseach
A bhrath ann, a thoib as;
Ab ’eo é an fál go haer?
A mhaicín, cá bhfuil do mhisneach
Ar bhád bán na haimsire
Le seoladh díreach ar an aighre
Ar shoitheach tráicht gan oighre?

Siod é anois agat Caoimhín
A d’imir ort tráth le ginín
Nó dhó. Tá Anna ag méadú,
Ní féidir gurb é leanbh Chaitlín
An stóicín údan. D’éalaigh
Leathlíne ort is thú ar snámh
Ó inné go dtí amáireach.
An ballséire gan a ghiolla,
Gan an t-ala féin a fhastú –
Maran thusa mac an bhambairne!

Maran thusa mac an mhí-áidh
Nár leor leis aon líne amháinl
A shantaigh trácht na hasarlaíocht
Le léim a chaithemh thar líne amach,
Na sé líne roimhe is ina dhiaidh.
Maran seoltóir ardintinniúil thusa
Ag déanamh ’bhfalach bhíog
Le do dhoiséinne áirithe línte,
Do haigh-deá beag amach anseo
Do shliocht mhac Thadhg Uí Rodaigh.

—

As Rungaí (An Clóchomhar Tta, 1980), lch. 14.