JUST four short weeks ago, the late Liam Ó Bruadair joined the remaining founders of Gaeltacht Bóthar Seoighe in launching a new initiative to conserve and celebrate the heritage of the Irish language community.
The launch of the GaelStair Project would be the last time this pioneering cohort were pictured together.
Liam Ó Bruadair was raised in North Queen Street. A lifelong pioneer he was a talented sportsman and a key player for the Pearse’s Gaelic football team in North Belfast when winning a first Antrim senior championship in the mid-1960s. A skilful and fearless boxer Liam climbed the ranks and fought for an Ulster Senior Championship and All Ireland titles.
He and his wife Cristín were founding members of Belfast's first urban Gaeltacht on the Shaws Road where they raised seven children as Gaeilge. Along with their neighbours they dedicated themselves to ensuring children could be educated through the medium of Irish by establishing the city’s first bunscoil. They worked tirelessly to raise funds to keep the school going.
Liam was a master carpenter and a highly regarded tutor at the ‘Tech” where he spent his career teaching hundreds of students and guiding them towards their own promising careers.
Is laoch ar lár anois é Liam Ó Bruadair; sciob an ailse é Dé Domhnaigh 6ú lá Deireadh Fomhar agus é 86.
The timing of Liam’s passing is a poignant reminder of the need to come together as a community to celebrate, to reflect on what we’ve achieved, and to conserve our history.
Commemoration is important. However, the Irish language community has never been interested in perfunctory acts of remembrance. Ours is a history with lessons that will drive us forward as we continue the story of the Irish language revival.
Even during his illness, in some of his final days, Liam was committed to writing a new chapter in that history. Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís.
