Gearóid Ó Cairealláin, one of the most noted Irish language champions over the last several decades, has passed away.
The 67-year-old west Belfast man, father of the band Kneecap’s Naoise, was at the leading edge of many of the major projects driving the development of the language.
He died a day before his son and the band take to the stage at the SSE Arena for a near sold-out gig on Saturday night. Mr Ó Cairealláin passed away in the Royal Victoria Hospital following a short illness.
A one-time head of Conradh na Gaeilge, he will be remembered for his involvement in helping found the daily newspaper Lá and Raidió Fáilte, licensed in 2006 but on air long before, and for being a central figure in the 1991 establishment of Coláiste Feirste.
Nearly two decades ago, he suffered a stroke that left him paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair but continued to work tirelessly on different projects promoting the Irish language.
He penned the Wheelchair Monologues, a “look back over the ups and downs of his life since suffering a haemorrhagic stroke at the age of forty-eight”.
“Now wheelchair bound, Gearóid’s life, once extremely active, has slowed down somewhat. However his indomitable spirit and zest for living remains undimmed,” the synopsis continued.
Photographer Kevin Cooper, in an online post expressing sorry at his passing, said “Gearóid was at school with my brother Fergus and they both worked on the student newspaper Gown together”.
“When he left University he with other(s) set up Preas an Phobail an Irish language newspaper which became La. I was their first photographer. He was a great champion of the language.”
In a statement, Conradh na Gaeilge said: “Drochscéal ar fad anocht agus an gníomhaí pobail, réabhlóidí teanga, Gearóid Ó Cairealláin, Uachtarán ar Chonradh na Gaeilge idir 1995-98, ar shlí na fírinne.
“Déanann Conradh na Gaeilge comhbhrón ó chroí lena mhuintir, lena chairde & le pobal Gaeilge Bhéal Feirste.”
Mr Ó Cairealláin did closely follow son Naoise and his Kneecap bandmates, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and J.J. Ó Dochartaigh, during their own rise to fame and some infamy.
Just this week, the very semi-autobiographical film featuring the band members was Oscar short-listed in the best foreign language category. Michael Fassbender portrayed Arlo, the father of the Naoise character in the film.