Irish language poet Gabriel Rosenstock dies aged 76
Gabriel Rosenstock. Picture: Maxwells
Poet and writer Gabriel Rosenstock has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 76.
A statement issued by his family said: “He believed in the power of poetry and in its ability to build bridges between different cultures.
“He was a prolific and restless soul who published over 400 books. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him and who read him.”
The diaries Rosenstock kept during his illness were used to make a radio documentary with his son, broadcaster and musician Tristan. The documentary, airs on RTÉ Radió na Gaeltachta this afternoon at 5pm.
Born in Kilfinane, Co Limerick, Rosenstock lived in Dublin and was a significant figures in Irish-language literature, publishing more than 400 books, the majority of them in Irish.
He was a student at University College Cork in the early 1970s, where he and other Irish language poets Michael Davitt, Liam Ó Muirthille and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill published the literary journal Inntí.
A member of Aosdána, he spent much of his professional life working with the Irish publisher, An Gúm, and he translated the works of Samuel Beckett, W.B. Yeats and Séamus Heaney.
He is survived by his wife Eithne, two daughters, Saffron and Héilean, and son, Tristan. His daughter, Éabha, predeceased him four years ago.
