Ó Cléirigh, Conn R. (1927–95), Celtic scholar, was born 7 February 1927 in Dublin, the elder of two children of James Clery, publican, of Amiens Street, and his wife, Johanna (née Connolly); Conn had a sister, Alice. He was educated at the Loreto convent, North Great George's Street, Dublin (1934–7), and at Belvedere College, Dublin (1937–45). He entered UCD in 1945 and was awarded the BA with first-class honours in Celtic studies in 1949, taking first place, and winning the Mansion House scholarship in Irish. In 1951 he was awarded the NUI travelling studentship in Celtic studies, and began his postgraduate studies in Sanskrit and Indo-European linguistics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. At Bangor, Wales, he perfected his Welsh; and later at Zurich he studied Celtic philology and the Germanic, Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, and Hittite languages. Among his professors during this period was the renowned scholar Julius Pokorny (qv). Ó Cléirigh was awarded the MA with first-class honours by the NUI in 1955.
In 1954 Ó Cléirigh was appointed to the staff of the Welsh department in UCD and in 1957 he transferred to the department of early and medieval Irish. A visiting professorship at the University of California, Los Angeles (1964–5) helped to shape his approach to theoretical linguistics. When the first ever chair of linguistics in Ireland was established at UCD in 1964, Ó Cléirigh was appointed to it. Under his administration the department of linguistics was soon offering courses to both day and evening undergraduates and attracting postgraduates from universities around the world. In his contribution to the general affairs of the college, Ó Cléirigh served two terms as dean of the faculty of Celtic studies, was a member of the governing body of UCD, and on separate occasions was acting head of the departments of Italian, Latin, and Welsh. He greeted everyone with a friendly word, and his warmth of personality, wisdom, and wit made new members of staff feel welcome.
Outside the college his interest in social issues led him into politics, and he became chairman of the Dublin regional council of the Labour Party. When Institúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann was established in 1972 as a national centre for the study of the state's language policy, Ó Cléirigh was appointed its chairman, a post to which he continued to be reappointed by successive governments until his death in 1995. Conn Ó Cléirigh's contribution to linguistics was more that of a devoted and inspiring teacher and pioneering administrator than that of the author of scholarly publications. He retired from the chair of linguistics in 1992 and died 30 April 1995. A Festschrift of forty-six essays, written by colleagues and former students among the world's leading Celtic scholars, is fitting testimony to the friendship his affability and loyalty inspired, and the high esteem in which he was held by his peers. He was married in 1955 to Ann McCabe; they had seven children, two daughters and five sons.
More information on this entry is available at the National Database of Irish-language biographies (Ainm.ie).