Ó Nualláin, Gearóid (1874–1942), Irish scholar, was born 22 May 1874 in Deargmhuine, Co. Tyrone, one of eight children of Dónal Ó Nualláin, a schoolteacher, and his wife, Jane Mellon. His nephew, Ciarán Ó Nualláin (qv), noted that Dónal Ó Nualláin was the professor of music in Omagh model school (Ciarán Ó Nualláin, 12). When he was four the family moved to Cill an Chlochair, two miles from Omagh. Both Gearóid and his brother Micheál (father of Brian O'Nolan (qv)) attended the local national school there. In 1879 the family moved into Omagh and from there to Belfast in 1882. After a period in the local Christian Brothers' School where he learned some Irish, he entered St Malachy’s College as a boarder where he studied English, French, Latin, Greek and chemistry. In 1892 he won one of four classics scholarships offered by the Royal University of Ireland (RUI). The scholar Osborn Bergin (qv) was a recipient the same year. Ó Nualláin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in classical languages in 1895 and afterwards entered Maynooth College where he graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) in 1899 and was also ordained that year. Life in Maynooth was strict at that time. Students were not allowed home visits at Christmas or Easter and his family was not allowed to be present at his ordination. During his final year in the college he began to learn Irish. After his graduation he was appointed professor in Coláiste Mhaolmhaodhóg, teaching Irish, philosophy, Greek, Latin, English and mathematics. Simultaneously he was professor of Irish in Coláiste Mhuire, Belfast.
Ó Nualláin spent a month learning Irish in Coláiste na Mumhan in 1904 where he encountered a number of difficulties as he had problems understanding the Munster Irish dialect. It led him to decide to use the Munster rather than the Ulster dialect he was familiar with; he wrote in his autobiography that when he began learning the language there were no books in either the Connacht or Ulster dialects that compared with Séadna by Peadar Ó Laoghaire (qv). He was appointed oide re modh múinteoireachta by the college for the 1906 season. He succeeded Risteard Ó Dálaigh (1872?–1930) as president of the college in 1919 and remained in the post until 1940. He also spent a period as professor in St Mary's College in Belfast.
His works include: Studies in modern Irish I–V (1919–22); Key to the lessons in studies in modern Irish, Part I (1920); Introduction to studies in modern Irish (1921); Sean agus nua (1923); Intrusions (1923), Ceistiúchán (1924), and The new era of grammar of modern Irish (1934). He considered the last to be his best work. He also edited Na ceithre soisgéil by Peadar Ó Laoghaire and began writing his autobiography Beatha dhuine a thoil in 1937. A number of translations were also published: Dia, diabhal agus daoine (1922), a translation of Leo Tolstoy's work, Trí seoda ó Albain (1922), a translation of Winfred M. Parker's Na daoine sidhe is uirsgeulan eile in Scots Gaelic and Tiarna an talaimh agus scéalta eile (1923). He also translated a number of works from Welsh, including Lona (1955), Gwen Thomas (1956), and Rhys Lewis (1960).
The chief secretary, Augustine Birrell (qv), invited Ó Nualláin to become a member of the Queen's University Belfast (QUB) senate in 1908 but on the advice of Cardinal Logue (qv) he declined.
He was appointed professor of Irish at Maynooth College on 12 October 1909 as successor to Dr Michael O'Hickey (qv) who had been dismissed. In addition to Old and Modern Irish he taught Latin, Scots Gaelic and Welsh. In 1909 he travelled to Freiburg, Germany, where he studied Old Irish under Rudolf Thurneysen (qv). He had intended to complete a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree but due to his heavy teaching load never fulfilled his ambition. He remained in his post as professor in Maynooth until his retirement in 1940.
In 1923 Ó Nualláin was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) by the National University of Ireland (NUI) for his work on Irish grammar. He died 26 March 1942 in St Mary's Hospice, Dublin, and was buried in Maynooth.
More information on this entry is available at the National Database of Irish-language biographies (Ainm.ie).