President Connolly pays tribute after death of Irish language poet Gabriel Rosenstock, 76
Gabriel Rosenstock: 'He believed in the power of poetry and in its ability to build bridges between different cultures.' Picture: Maxwells
President Catherine Connolly has led tributes to poet and writer Gabriel Rosenstock, who has passed away at the age of 76, after a battle with cancer.
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.”
President Connolly said in a statement: "May I join with all those who have expressed such sadness on learning of the death of the poet, translator, playwright and writer of so many different forms Gabriel Rosenstock.
"Those titles alone could never capture the extent of the contribution which Gabriel made over the course of his life.
"Across an extraordinary career, he made a particularly special contribution to the Irish language, leaving not only a broad body of his own work, but also a remarkably diverse set of translations, through which he brought so many of the great writers of the world to the Irish language.
"His writing has been enjoyed, and will continue to be enjoyed, by people of all ages, while his translations will continue to ensure an engagement between our language and so many of the other cultures of the world.
"In recent weeks, Gabriel has made a further great and moving contribution in sharing his experiences of illness and his contemplations of life and death with the public.
"He will be deeply missed."
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.
