Breandán Ó Buachalla, Thomas J. and Kathleen O’Donnell Professor in Irish Language and Literature at the University of Notre Dame, died suddenly yesterday at his home in Dublin. He was 74 years old.
A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2003, Ó Buachalla was the world’s most authoritative scholar on the literature and ideology of early modern Ireland, and the author of numerous books and articles on the impact of the Counter-Reformation on Irish political thought, early modern historiography, linguistics, Gaelic poetry, and the cult of the Stuarts in Irish literature. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy.
“Breandán’s death is a terrible loss, not only for Notre Dame, but for Irish language and literature generally,” said Christopher Fox, director of Notre Dame’s Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the Ó Buachalla family.”
Before coming to Notre Dame, Ó Buachalla, who held a degree in Celtic Studies from University College Cork, had taught at Queens University in Belfast and University College Dublin. He also held the Parnell Fellowship at Cambridge University as well as visiting professorships at New York University and Boston College
Ó Buachalla is survived by his wife, Aingeal, his daughters, Bridóg and Clíona and his son, Traolach.