At Home and Abroad

Padraig O'Broin (J. Patrick Byrne), 1908-1967, was an internationally known Canadian Poet. He ranks among the great Canadian Poets of his time - Al Purdy, Milton Acorn. He worked as Poetry Editor for the Canadian Authors Association and McClelland Stewart publishers. Padraig, who came to Canada from Ireland in 1913 with his family was also a Gaelic poet, scholar and translator. He taught himself Irish and founded and edited Celtic/Gaelic Journals in the 1950's. Pádraig Ó Broin, his Irish-language poetry, and his Celtic journals are little known. This essay surveys Ó Broin’s life, his poems in Irish, and the two journals, including their range of material and main contributors. Sjef Frenken has composed music to accompany 20 of O'Broin's poems and produced a CD of the music and poetry. http://www.byte-town.ca/music.htm