Brian Ó Cuív (1916 - 14 November 1999) was a Celtic scholar who specialised in Irish history and philology.

Contents 1 Life 2 Surname 3 Works 4 External links 5 Footnotes

[edit] Life

He was professor of Celtic Studies at University College Dublin and later at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.^[1] His later years were devoted to the compilation of a catalogue of the Irish manuscripts in the University of Oxford.^[2] The completed catalogue was published after his death.

He married Emer De Valera, daughter of Eamon De Valera, with whom he had nine children. A son, Eamon Ó Cuív, is a prominent Irish politician.^[1]

[edit] Surname

Ó Cuív's surname was changed from Ó Caoimh by his grandfather, Shán Ó Cuív, a Cork journalist, who in the early 20th century, changed the spelling of his surname in order to conform with a simplified spelling system of his own invention which he called An Leitriú Shimplí.^[3] The letter 'v' is extremely rare in Irish outside modern loanwords, it is not one of the 23 letters of the 'Irish alphabet'.^[4][5]

[edit] Works

His works include:

• The Irish of West Muskerry, Co. Cork: A Phonetic Study (1951)
• Irish Dialects and Irish Speaking Districts: Three Lectures (1951)
• Parliament Na mBan, editor, (1952)
• Seven Centuries of Irish Learning: 1000-1700 (1961)
• A View of the Irish Language(1969)
• The Linguistic Training of the Mediaeval Irish Poet (1973)
• The Impact of the Scandinavian Invasions on the Celtic-speaking Peoples c.800-1100 A.D. (1983)
• Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and Oxford College Libraries (2001)

[edit] External links

• A title-index of Ó Cuív's publications, 1942 - 1971

[edit] Footnotes

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