Poet celebrated on home turf

28 May 2010

The 55c stamp, which features an original painting of the poet by renowned Irish artist Tom Ryan RHA set against the backdrop of Inis Mór, was unveiled by the Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuiv TD.

Born in Sruthán, Inis Mór in 1910 Máirtín Ó Direáin spoke only his native tongue until his mid teens when he left the island to work in the post office in Galway. He remained there for almost ten years before leaving to work in Dublin.  Hailed as "Ireland's unacknowledged poet Laureate", his poems, most of which were inspired by life on Aran, were all written in Irish.

Donal Connell, Chief Executive of An Post said the stamp not only honoured Máirtín Ó Direáin but would also bring him to a whole new audience. 

‘’For us, Máirtín Ó Direáin should be someone whose thoughts and ideas are not insular or of another age, but are global and modern. They can inspire us in meeting our modern challenges and successfully serving the people of this community and the island of Ireland,’’ he said.

Minister O’Cuiv said “Maybe there is something poetic in itself about the fact that a number of strands of the distinguished life of Máirtín Ó Direáin have all come together here in his own native place today. Máirtín Ó Direáin was not only a pioneering poet who always had a respect for the nature and the community of his own place, but he also spent part of his life working in the Post Office in Galway, something that adds to the commemoration of his life and work by An Post today with this commemorative stamp.”

The stamp is available from main post offices or online at www.irishstamps.ie.