Niall Ó Dónaill (27 August 1908 – 10 February 1995) was an Irish language lexicographer from Ailt an Eidhinn, Loughanure, County Donegal, Ireland. He was the oldest of the six children of Tarlach ÓDónaill and Éilis NicRuairí from Grial, Loughanure. They had a little land and a few cows. His father, Tarlach, would spend June to November working for a farmer in Scotland and died when Niall was 13 years old. ÓDónaill himself spent summers working in the tunnels in Scotland.
During his time at university, he spent his summers teaching at Coláiste Bhríde, Rann na Feirste.
Ó Dónaill is most famous for his work as editor of the 1977 Irish-English dictionary , which is still widely used today.
He received his education at in Loughanure before gaining a scholarship to St Eunan's College in Letterkenny. Another scholarship took him to University College Dublin to study Irish, English and History. In June 1982 he was awarded a D.Litt. by Trinity College Dublin.
Ó Dónaill wrote the book which is based on stories of pastimes in the Gaeltacht town Loughanure and its surrounding area. His book was first published in 1952.
He was awarded at in 1980.
Ó Dónaill died in 1995.
Bibliography
Dictionary 1977 – – An Irish-English dictionary known as
Books 1934 – – A collection of short stories and historical events in Loughanure 1937 – – The life of John Mitchel 1951 – 1952 – – A history of The Rosses and the story of the O'Donnell dynasty
Translations 1932 – (The Call of the Wild by Jack London); 1932 – (She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard); 1935 – (Marie by H. Rider Haggard); 1935 – (The Kindred of the Wild by Charles G. D. Roberts); 1935 – (The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum); 1936 – (The Talisman by Walter Scott); 1936 – (Robert Emmet by Raymond Postgate); 1937 – (Parson Kelly by A.E.W. Mason and Andrew Lang); 1938 – (Commando by Deneys Reitz); 1938 – (The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson) 1939 – (Juggernaut by Alice Campbell); 1946 – (The Demi-Gods by James Stephens); 1958 – (Two Candles for Mary, a religious publication by H.B. Zimmerman) 1996 (posthumous) – (Protestant City, a book about Belfast by Denis Ireland)
Unpublished – (The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc)
References
External links (Ó Dónaill, 1977) ÓDónaill's Irish–English dictionary