A major exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of Galway-native Irish scholar and professor Tomás Ó Máille is open at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. Culture & Citizenship: Tomás Ó Máille was commissioned by the Department of Irish in the University of Galway and produced in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy and the National Library.
The exhibition will shed new light on the history of the Irish language and will deepen our understanding of its status nationally.
Originally from Joyce Country, Tomás Ó Máille was appointed professor of Irish at the University of Galway in 1909 and held that position until his untimely death in 1938.
A pioneer in many ways, Ó Máille’s greatest foresight was his commitment to the newest technology of his day — audio recording. Focusing on folklore, song, and various dialects, he created hundreds of recordings of Irish speakers from every county in Connacht and County Clare. Nearly 100 years after they were first captured, wax cylinder recordings held in the University of Galway Library were digitised in 2021 with support from Roinn na Gaeltachta.
Through images and online audio-visual recordings, the exhibition Culture & Citizenship: Tomás Ó Máille reveals the pioneering Professor’s remarkable achievements as a scholar, writer, linguist, lecturer, newspaper editor, collector, and activist.
The exhibition is supplemented by a selection of original letters from the collections of the Royal Irish Academy Library documenting Ó Máille’s work on the Doegen Records Scheme, a project which aimed to make phonetic recordings of Irish speech in Gaeltacht areas.
The letters relate to the Connacht recording session in September 1930 conducted by Ó Máille and Herr Karl Tempel, assistant to Dr Wilhelm Doegen (1877–1967 ), director of the Sound Department at the Prussian State Library (Lautabteilung, Preussische Staatsbibliothek ), Berlin.
The digitised recordings can be consulted on the website of the Doegen Records Web Project, developed by the Royal Irish Academy in 2008, and on the Digital Repository of Ireland.
The letters reveal the logistical difficulties encountered by the scheme in rural Ireland in 1928-1931 with many potential contributors unable to participate due to old age or ill health and the stresses that a journey to Galway would cause. Collectively the letters capture a sense of the interest and excitement surrounding the project from members of the Irish speaking community in Connacht and Clare.
Curator of the exhibition, Dr Deirdre Ní Chonghaile said: ‘This bilingual exhibition sees Ó Máille’s priceless archive come to life. This is a celebration of the extraordinary efforts of Ó Máille as a lifelong changemaker working for the Irish language, and of his outstanding legacy in capturing artistic treasures of the Irish language from every county west of the Shannon. We are delighted that communities around the country will be able to visit the exhibition on their own doorsteps. Ó Máille’s story is inspiring for all, not just for speakers of Irish.’
Librarian of the Royal Irish Academy, Barbara McCormack said: ‘The RIA is committed to serving the public good on the island of Ireland and preserving our national cultural heritage. We are therefore delighted to host this bilingual exhibition on the life and legacy of Tomás Ó Máille in collaboration with the University of Galway.’
President of University of Galway Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh said Irish language scholarship is one of the distinctive features of our University that truly sets it apart.
“I am pleased that through this exhibition we will celebrate the very early beginning of that scholarship in the figure of Tomás Ó Máille. It strikes me that Ó Máille’s work then, and this exhibition today, reflect the values of our university – in their respect for the language and traditions of the West of Ireland, in the excellent standards of scholarship, and in the open collaboration with Ó Máille’s family, funders and academic partners to sustain Ó Máille’s scholarship and his collaborators’ voices for generations to come,” he said.
Exhibition director Professor Lillis Ó Laoire said: ‘We are especially grateful to Tomás’ son, Éamonn Ó Máille, who, before he died, supported our efforts to preserve and create access to his father’s archival legacy. In time, Ó Máille’s recordings will be freely available at www.universityofgalway.ie/tomasomaille, and west of Ireland communities will hear their own ancestors singing, speaking, and keening nearly 100 years ago.’
The exhibition, which received funding from Foras na Gaeilge and the University of Galway, opened at the Hardiman Building at the University of Galway last September. It is free to view in the Meeting Room of the Royal Irish Academy from 7 February to 21 April 2023, Monday to Friday 10-5pm. Thereafter, it will return to Ó Máille’s native home in Joyce Country.
