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Irish Studies, Syracuse University Press book cover 1

Irish Studies, Syracuse University Press

Series · 82 books

By Eric P. Levy, Padraic Colum, Joan Mathieu, and more

Between 1878 and 1881, Standish O Grady published a three-volume "History of Ireland "that simultaneously recounted the heroic ancient past of the Irish people and helped to usher in a new era of cultural revival and political upheaval. At the heart of this history was the figure of Cuculain, the great mythic hero who would inspire a generation of writers and revolutionaries, from W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory to Patrick Pearse. Despite the profound influence O Grady s writings had on literary and political culture in Ireland, they are not as well known as they should be, particularly in view of the increasingly global interest in Irish culture. This critical edition of the Cuculain legend offers a concise, abridged version of the central story in" History of Ireland" the rise of the young warrior, his famous exploits in the "Tain Bo Cualinge "(The Cattle Raid of Cooley), and his heroic death. Castle and Bixby s edition also includes a scholarly introduction, biography, timeline, glossary, editorial notes, and critical essays, demonstrating the significance of O Grady s writing for the continued reimagining of Ireland s past, present, and future. Inviting a new generation of readers to encounter this work, the volume provides the tools necessary to appreciate both O Grady s enduring importance as a writer and Cuculain s continuing resonance as a cultural icon."

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Author

Standish J. O'Grady

Author · 1 books

Please be careful not confuse him with his cousin Standish Hayes O'Grady. Standish James O'Grady His father was the Reverend Thomas O'Grady, the scholarly Church of Ireland minister of Castletown Berehaven, County Cork, and his mother Susanna Doe (or Dowe). Standish O'Grady's childhood home - the Glebe - lies a mile west of Castletownbere near a famine mass grave and ruined Roman Catholic chapel. He was a cousin of Standish Hayes O'Grady, another noted figure in Celtic literature, and of Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore. He married Margaret Fisher and had three sons. Advised to move away from Ireland for the sake of his health, he passed his later years living with his eldest son, a clergyman in England, and died on the Isle of Wight. His eldest son, Hugh Art O'Grady, was for a time editor of the Cork Free Press before he enlisted in the Great War early in 1915. He became better known as Dr Hugh O'Grady, later Professor of the Transvaal University College, Pretoria (later the University of Pretoria), who wrote the biography of his father in 1929. After a rather severe education at Tipperary Grammar School, Standish James O'Grady followed his father to Trinity College, Dublin, where he won several prize medals and distinguished himself in several sports.