The death took place in Galway on November 3rd of Alan Heussaff, one of the most prominent Breton nationalists of this century. Born in Sant-Ivi in 1921, a native speaker of Breton, he also spoke French, German, English, Irish and a number of other Celtic languages fluently. He was involved in the militant Breton nationalist struggle during the second World War and was granted political asylum in neutral Ireland after the war.
He studied maths/physics at University College, Galway, where he met his wife, Brid Ni Dhochartaigh from the Fanaid Gaeltacht in Donegal, from whom he learnt his Irish. On graduation he was employed as a meteorological officer at Shannon Airport until 1958 when he moved to Dublin.
Irish became the medium of the Heussaff family of four daughters and two sons and they were involved in the establishment of Na Teaghlaigh Ghaelacha, an organisation for Irish-speaking families, from its foundation in 1960.
He was a founder member of the Celtic League in 1961 and was its secretary general until 1986. He was involved in various language campaigns at home with Conradh na Gaeilge and internationally, where he assisted campaigns for Scottish and Welsh independence. On retirement in 1986, he and his wife relocated to An Spideal in the Cois Fharraige Gaeltacht.
He spent most of his later years involved in the cultivation of his native Breton language and played a large part in the publication in 1995 of Geriadur Brezhoneg, a pioneering Breton/Breton dictionary. He also published an important work on the Breton language of his native area - Geriaoueg Sant-Ivi (1996).
Alan Heussaff, who has been described as an "internationalist nationalist", was connected with language movements throughout the world, but in all his campaigns emphasised the absolute importance of the national language and culture to groups who were seeking self-government. He is survived by his wife Brid, four daughters and two sons.
Alan Heussaff: born 1921; died November, 1999