Exhibition - Máirtín Ó Cadhain: Life and Work

Dr. Chris McCann

The 3rd of October 2025 saw the launch of a new bilingual exhibition, Máirtín Ó Cadhain: Life and Work, in the Hardiman Research Building exhibition space. Máirtí Ó Cadhain (1906-1970) was a giant of Irish-language culture, and the exhibition tells his story by weaving together the many strands of his highly accomplished life.

Dr. Chris McCann of Roinn na Gaeilge curated the exhibition with the support of Research Ireland, Iontaobhas Uí Chadhain, and members of the Special Collections team. Amongst other artefacts, it includes Ó Cadhain’s personal possessions and material from the University of Galway archives. Artworks made specially by the artist and poet Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha enhance the exhibition’s storytelling aspect.

Here is a selection of the most noteworthy items on display:

Portrait

The exhibition begins in An Cnocán Glas, Ó Cadhain’s birthplace, with a powerful new portrait by the artist Seán Ó Flaithearta. The portrait was originally created for the book Dúchan (2025) by Colm Ó Cuaig and Charles Dillon. To create the pigment, Ó Flaithearta used samples of clay collected from beside the remains of the house where Ó Cadhain was born and raised. Clay is one of the most fundamental symbols that Ó Cadhain used in his creative work to represent the Irish language and its culture.

First-edition copy of Cré na Cille

First-edition copy of Cré na Cille

Ó Cadhain sent this copy of Cré na Cille to his relatives in An Cnocán Glas, with the order “to be read to Máirtín Beag”, his uncle. Ó Cadhain’s magnum opus attracted widespread attention when first serialised in the Irish Press in 1949, and later published as a book in 1950. “I know,” said Ó Cadhain in 1969, “that the ordinary people, in the west at least, and these are my own people, thoroughly enjoyed Cré na Cille.”

Celtic cross

Ó Cadhain made this beautiful Celtic cross from matchsticks while interned in the Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare, between 1940-44 because of his membership in the IRA. The cross commemorates the death of Siobhán Ní Rodaigh, the sister of Ó Cadhain’s wife Máirín. Making Celtic crosses is a long tradition amongst Republican prisoners.

Academic robes (and evening suit)

Ó Cadhain was a scholar with vast knowledge of the literature and folklore of Ireland and Europe. In 1956 he was appointed Lecturer of Irish by Trinity College, who later made him an Associate Professor in 1967 and Professor in 1969. The robes he would wear for academic business are on display here, as well as an evening suit he would wear on formal occasions.

There is a wealth of other exhibits and information in Máirtín Ó Cadhain: Life and Work which gives new insight for both experts and those encountering this giant of the Irish language for the first time. It is free and open to the public until 22 October 2025. Dr. McCann is working on travelling and digital editions of the exhibition for the months ahead.