Breandán Ó Doibhlin obituary: Eminent French and Irish language scholar and priest

Born: May 29th, 1931

Died: September 19th, 2023

Very Rev Mons Breandán Ó Doibhlin was one of Ireland’s great intellectuals. He spent much of his life contemplating, reflecting, thinking and writing about the circumstances of literature, culture and life in Ireland. He left an indelible mark on several generations of writers and critics and enriched the understanding of self among all those who were fortunate to know him, and who came under his influence.

It is easy to recount the story of his external life, even though he might argue that was not the most important thing. He was born in Rousky, Co Tyrone, in 1931 and received his secondary education in the renowned St Columb’s College in Derry. He was ordained as a priest in Rome in 1955, and, after studying at the Sorbonne, was appointed professor of modern languages at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, in 1958, at the age of 27. He remained in that position until his retirement in 1996. In addition, he was vice-president of the St Patrick’s Pontifical University at Maynooth University between 1979 and 1982.

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He received other accolades during the course of his life. The French Government appointed him a Chevalier de d’Ordre National de Mérite and also an Officer de la Légion d’Honneur. He was, unremittingly, a Francophile and his passion for French literature and French philosophy served as a strong counterpoint, in his perspective, to the dominant position of English as a standard comparison for the Irish language. That was reflected in the changes he made to Irisleabhar Mhá Nuad in 1966. Until then it was an annual journal that accepted any article as long as it was written in Irish. Ó Doibhlin refashioned it as a journal that gave voice to modern Irish-language literature.

Ó Doibhlin came to public prominence first, not as a critic or as a scholar, but as a novelist. His first novel, Néal Maidne agus Tine Oíche (Morning Cloud and Night Fire), was published in 1964. It was a fable about a community searching for a promised land. It was quite unlike anything published in Irish until then. The book caused a stir and led to much discussion, not least for the manner in which it challenged modern Irish-language literary criticism during the mid 1960s.

Another declaration of open war against the orthodoxy was his energy in driving the change of direction for Irisleabhar Mhá Nuad. What he proposed for the journal was that the study of Irish-language literature become an authentic subject matter in its own right. That literary dimension has remained an integral part of Irisleabhar Mhá Nuad to this day.

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The challenge would never have been worthwhile if he had not been willing to follow the courage of his own convictions. He unfailingly wrote learned essays for publications as diverse as An Sagart, Éire-Ireland, and The Bell. He published three volumes of collected essays entitled Aistí Critice agus Cultúir (Critical and Cultural Essays). The last volume includes contemplative essays on the poems of Dáibhí Ó Bruadair, on the spiritual works of Séathrún Céitinn, on two of Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s novels as well as writing on various historical and spiritual matters.

As much as he loved French, as one would expect of a French professor, it was also clear that his heart and soul was in Irish-language literature

Three preoccupations – literature, faith, and Ireland – were evident in all his writing. A special edition of Irisleabhar Mhá Nuad in his honour was published in 1996-1997. It included essays from some of the great modern scholars of Irish-language literature including Declan Kiberd, Máirín Nic Eoin, Micheál Mac Craith, Gearóid Denvir, Tadhg Ó Dúshláine, Brian Ó Conchubhair, Pádraig Ó Croiligh, Liam Mac Cóil and Pádraig Ó Gormaile. It reflected the esteem in which he was held by his peers.

Deep understanding

It is evident he was a master of many disciplines. He wrote three novels, each different, and all profound, stylised and with a deep understanding of the human condition. He was a translator who wrote Irish-language versions of, among other things, the Book of Isaiah from the Old Testament; a rich translation of Rabelais’s 16th century comic novel series, Gargantua and Pantagruel, as Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; and the work of Montaigne. He was also an editor of dictionaries, biographies and works of theology.

As much as he loved French, as one would expect of a French professor, it was also clear that his heart and soul was in Irish-language literature. A six-volume anthology of Irish literature from 1500, Manuail de Litríocht na Gaeilge, published by Coiscéim between 2003 and 2011 was a testament to that. It included extracts from the most Irish literary works of each era, with changes of idiom made where necessary to accommodate modern readers. A work of that scope and ambition should have been undertaken by Irish-language scholars at a much earlier juncture.

The achievements of Breandán Ó Doibhlin’s long life were recognised by high accolades in France and by ongoing recognition of his work on behalf of College des Irlandais in Paris. Primarily, however, he will be remembered as a hero of Irish-language literature and of literary criticism, as well as an inspiration for generations of Irish speakers.

He is predeceased by his loving brothers Colum, Rev Fr. Kieran and baby Brian and sister Carmel, and deeply regretted by his nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, colleagues and friends.

You can read the Irish language version of this obituary here.