Journalist, lecturer, historian and activist – Nollaig Ó Gadhra’s accomplishments were many. Ó Gadhra took an active interest in nearly every aspect of life and he famously kept in regular correspondence with people from all walks of life, both in Ireland and overseas. In this book, twenty of his close friends and acquaintances share their memories of Nollaig Ó Gadhra, giving an affectionate yet unvarnished account not only of the man but touching on some of the major historical events that occurred during his lifetime.
Included in the collection are essays by the politicians Éamon Ó Cuív, T.D., Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the historian Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, Pádhraic Ó Ciardha, TG4, Ronnie O’Gorman, founder of The Galway Advertiser, and many others.
Nollaig Ó Gadhra
Historian, journalist, teacher, author … Nollaig Ó Gadhra was was born in Co. Limerick but lived for most of his life in the Connemara Gaeltacht. He worked with RTÉ, the Irish-language newspaper Inniu, Fáilte an Iarthair and Gaeltarra Éireann, before taking a post as a lecturer with the Regional Technical College, Galway.
His published work includes biographies on Mahatma Gandhi, Éamonn Ignatius Rice, John Boyle O’Reilly and Richard J. Daley. He had a particular interest in the history surrounding the founding of the Irish State and subsequent years. He wrote books like Ríocht Roinnte (A Divided Kingdom) and Guth an Phobail (The People’s Voice) based on his research in that area. Many of his articles, lectures and pamphlets were published during his lifetime.
He was an activist for the Irish-language also and the revival of the language and he spent time as the President of the Irish League (Conradh na Gaeilge). He spent much of his life battling illness and died before his time in August, 2008. He is survived by his wife and their three children.
Máirín Ní Ghadhra
Máirín Ní Ghadhra is from Furbo, Co. Galway. She is a journalist with RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. She lives in Carraroe, Co. Galway.
