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Breandán Ó hEithir

Breandán Ó hEithir was born in Inishmore, in the the Aran Islands off the coast of County Galway. During his career as a broadcaster, poet, journalist and author, he wrote in both Irish and English, and was highly regarded for his originality and liveliness. He also worked as Irish language editor at both The Irish Press and Sáirséal agus Dill, the Irish language publisher. He was a nephew of the writer Liam O'Flaherty.

Breandán was Ireland's first writer to top the best seller list with a book written in Irish, his novel Lig Sinn i gCathú. The book was also so successful in Germany that he was encouraged to travel in that country.

He died tragically in 1990 at the age of 60. Liam Mac Con Iomaire's biography of Breandán was published in 2000.

Books

Lig Sinn i gCathú

Published in English as Lead Us Into Temptation, translated by the author.

Lig Sinn i gCathú is set in a university town, a thinly disguised Galway City, in 1948, the year Ireland declared itself a republic and departed the Commonwealth. However, Martin Melody, a pub-crawling university student, and his disreputable friends are too busy drinking and lusting after girls to pay much attention to this significant politics.

Lig Sinn i gCathú is so far the only book in the Irish language to top Ireland's best seller list.

Over The Bar

Though he played football growing up, it was O hEithir's career in journalism and broadcasting that brought him into close contact with the Gaelic Athletic Association. He developed a passion for sports and a deep interest in the social life and folklore involving the GAA. Here he records his memories of the GAA and pays a personal tribute to the enduring influence of this organization on Irish society.

The Begrudger's Guide to Irish Politics

In The Begrudger's Guide, published in 1986, Breandán Ó hEithir identified begrudgers as the nation's largest faction. They were distinguished, he wrote, by "a deep and abiding doubt about our ability to run our own affairs as well as others might run them for us."

A Pocket History of Ireland

A short history from earliest times to the present. It deals with prehistory, the Celts, Christianity, the Vikings, the Normans. The various conquests and rebellions are covered, including Cromwell, Wolfe Tone, and the 1916 Rising. It provides an account of both North and South over the twentieth century, clarifying the development and intricacies of the Northern "troubles" and the many attempts to resolve them. Understanding and sympathetic, this little book gives a clear and stimulating grasp of Ireland, past and present.

Also:

This is Ireland

Willie the Plain Pint agus An Pápa

An Nollaig Thiar