Ó Néill, Séamas (1910–81), Irish language writer, was born 21 May 1910, in Clárchoill, Clough, Co. Down, son of John O'Neill, a carriage-maker, and his wife, Mary Small. His father had married twice and O'Neill was the child of the second marriage and had two stepbrothers, two stepsisters and three sisters. When he was six the family moved to Belfast. He received his earliest education in the Christian Brothers' School, Barrack Street, Belfast. He spent five years in Queen's University Belfast (QUB) where he was awarded a Master of Arts (MA) degree in history for his thesis on the maritime history of Ireland. Subsequently he spent a year studying under Eoin MacNéill (qv) in University College Dublin (UCD) and afterwards obtained a travelling scholarship to Frankfurt. He also spent time studying at Innsbruck University and the Westphalia College of Education, Germany, where he attained diplomas for teaching German. On leaving college, he taught Irish and English in Dundalk Vocational School. He was professor of history at Carysfort College, Dublin from 1937 to 1974 and during this time gave a number of lectures in the USA. After his retirement he was awarded a research fellowship in the Institute of Irish Studies at QUB.
A prolific and innovative writer in the Irish language, he published short stories, novels, plays and collections of poetry in addition to numerous essays in Irish-language newspapers and journals. While teaching in Dundalk, he was also assistant editor and editorial writer of the Dundalk Examiner and was editor of An tUltach for two and a half years. In addition to his teaching he worked for most of his life as a journalist or an editor and once boasted that there was not a single newspaper or journal in Ireland from Ireland's Saturday Night to Studies that did not contain one of his contributions. He was a member of the editorial committee of Comhar and contributed numerous articles to the journal under the pseudonym ‘Bricriú'. He began a regular column in Inniu entitled ‘Dar Liomsa' on 29 June 1945, which continued until the middle of the 1950s. Although this column dealt mainly with literary matters, he regularly expressed his opinion on a wide range of topics including ‘Litriú na Gaeilge agus an Bhéarla' (5 July 1946); ‘Thar na hAlpa – an turas is iontaighe san Eoraip' (14 March 1947) and ‘Tá claon againn mar Ghaeilgeoirí le tuatachas' (2 December 1949). He continued to contribute to the newspaper after his column had come to an end. He also published regularly in Scéala Éireann, The Bell, Ulster Parade and the Irish Bookman. He was guest editor of a special edition of Irish Writing (1955) dealing with writing in the Irish language and also of Poetry Ireland.
O'Neill published two collections of short stories, An Sean-Saighdiúr agus Scéalta Eile (1945) and Ag Baint Fraochán agus scéalta eile (1955). He also published two novels: Tonn tuile (1947), for which he is best known, deals with urban middle class marriage breakdown and was the first novel in the Irish language to do so. His second novel, Máire Nic Artáin (1959), deals with sectarianism in Ulster as do a number of his short stories and plays as well as the difficulties arising from inter-denominational marriage. O'Neill was also a prolific playwright: Buaidh an Ultaigh (1936); Ní chuireann siad síol nó Poll Bocht (1945); Colm Cille (1946); Díolta faoi na luach (1946); Up the rebels! (1954); Iníon Rí Dhún Sobhairce (1960); An tSiúr Pól (1961); Faill ar an bhFeart (1967); and Iníon Rí na Spáinne (1978). He wrote two volumes of poetry, Dánta (1944), published by Glún na Buaidhe, which sold 3,000 copies, and Dánta do pháistí (1949). In addition, he published two collections of essays, Súil timpeall (1951) and Lámh dhearg abú, published posthumously in 1982. In conjunction with Ciarán Ó Nualláin (qv), he wrote the radio magazine programme ‘An tréimhseachan teann' and contributed a chapter on Irish language literature to the Dictionary of Irish literature (1979).
O'Neill was an active member and secretary of Cumann na Scríbhneoirí (founded in 1939) and in 1946 was elected chairman. He was chairman of PEN in Ireland for a time and was also a committee member of the Irish Historical Society.
He was an amateur boxer as well as a keen swimmer and particularly interested in lifesaving. He married twice, first to Siobhán Judge, who died shortly after their marriage and subsequently to Caitlín Ní Chaoimh who was chairperson of an Cumann Scoildhrámaíochta from 1962 until 1975. They had two sons and two daughters. O'Neill died 2 June 1981.
More information on this entry is available at the National Database of Irish-language biographies (Ainm.ie).