Seán Ó Tuama

Seán Ó Tuama (1926, Cork, Ireland – September 2006) was an Irish poet, playwright and academic.

Raised in the southern city of Cork and educated at the North Monastery (North Mon) school and University College Cork, Ó Tuama first came to prominence in 1950 with his anthology of modern Irish language poetry titled Nuabhéarsaíocht 1939-1949.

Notable academic works include An Grá in Amhráin na nDaoine, an analysis of medieval and Renaissance European influences on Irish song, which is credited as being a source for inspiration for poets including Liam Ó Muirthile and Gabriel Rosenstock. The anthology An Duanaire: Poems of the Dispossessed, a collection of poems in the Irish language dating from the 16th to 19th centuries selected by Ó Tuama and accompanied by translations of the poems into English by Thomas Kinsella, was published in 1981.

Ó Tuama was the Professor of Irish Literature at University College Cork, and visiting professor at Harvard, Oxford and Toronto University. He was also chairman of Bord na Gaeilge for a time. and a member of the Arts Council of Ireland.

• 1983 American Book Award

Poetry

• Faoileán Na Beatha (Baile Átha Cliath, An Chlochomar Tta., 1962)
• Rogha dánta: Death in the Land of Youth: New and Selected Poems of Sean O Tuama. Translator Peter Denman. Cork University Press. 1997. ISBN 978-1-85918-157-7. 

Plays

• Gunna Cam agus Slabhra Oir. Drama Vearsaíochta Thrí Ghníomh (Baile Átha Cliath, Sairseal Agus Dill). Folens and Co. Ltd. 1973. ISBN 978-0-902592-52-0. 
• An Grá in Amhráin na nDaoine (An Clochomhar Tta., 1960)
• An Grá i bhFilíocht na nUaisle (1988)

Anthologies

• Seán Ó Tuama, eds. (1981). An Duanaire: Poems of the Dispossessed. Translator Thomas Kinsella. Dublin: Dolmen Press. ISBN 978-0-85105-363-9.  CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter (link)
• Coiscéim na hAoise Seo, and an anthology of 20th century poetry in Irish

Essays

• Cúirt, Tuath agus Bruachbhaile, An Clóchomhar Tta, 1990
• Nuabhearsaiocht 1939-1949 (as editor, Baile Atha Cliath, Sairseal agus Dill, 1950)
• The Facts About Irish. Coraigh: An Comhar Poiblí. 1964. 
• The Gaelic League Idea. Cork: Mercier Press. 1972. 
• Repossessions, selected essays on the Irish literary heritage. Cork University Press. 1995. ISBN 978-1-85918-044-0.