Ó Conaire, (Seán-)Pádraic (1882-1928)

Irish Gaelic writer. Ó Conaire was born in Galway and educated in Gaelic-speaking Rosmuc. He began to write stories while working as a civil servant in London, but devoted himself to writing full-time in 1913 after winning literary prizes. His work, which was part of the ‘Gaelic revival’ in literature, embraced novels, short stories, essays, travel accounts, and children's books. His short-story collections Nóra Mharcuis Bhig agus Sgéalta Eile (1909) and An Chéad Chloch (1914), along with a novel Deoraíocht/Exile (1910), are his most acclaimed works.

Ó Conaire spent some time at sea before entering the civil service, where he remained for many years. His writing was marked by its deceptive simplicity and subtle construction, and touched on themes of psychological complexity that alarmed the more puritanical exponents of the Gaelic revival. His later years were spent writing and teaching Irish, chiefly in Galway.