Belfast-born co-founder of the country's only urban Gaeltacht

Seosamh Mistéal: SEOSAMH MISTÉAL, who has died in his native Belfast, was one of the founders of Ireland’s only urban Gaeltacht…

Seosamh Mistéal:SEOSAMH MISTÉAL, who has died in his native Belfast, was one of the founders of Ireland's only urban Gaeltacht, and a stalwart of Irish language activities in the city for more that 60 years. He had lived in the Gaeltacht on Shaw's Road (or Bóthar Seoighe) in Belfast since becoming one of its first residents in May 1969.

He attended the initial meeting in 1961 when a number of Irish-speaking families decided to establish the Gaeltacht. For many years he was the community’s treasurer.

The Shaw’s Road Gaeltacht laid the foundation for the phenomenal development of Irish language education in the North. In 1970 the Gaeltacht community established Bunscoil Pobail Feirste as the North’s first Irish-language school, with Seosamh a member of the committee and his daughter Siubhán a pupil. There are now 79 Irish-language schools in the North.

Seosamh Mistéal was born on April 7th, 1927, to John Mitchell, a carter, and his wife Theresa (née Marley), a damask weaver, at Elizabeth Street on Belfast’s Grosvenor Road.

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Showing early academic promise, he won a scholarship to the city’s St Malachy’s College. Unfortunately, economic circumstances forced him to leave after three years. With Belfast being blitzed during the second World War, he was evacuated to the Glens of Antrim.

On his return to Belfast, he had a number of jobs, including builder’s labourer, lorry driver for the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board, and insurance man.

The strong Republican beliefs he held all his life led him into the IRA in the late 1940s. While prepared to die for his beliefs, he was not prepared to kill others; thus, he left the IRA.

His interest in Irish also dated from the 1940s, and he worked hard to make himself a fluent speaker. Through his Irish language activities he met Caitlín Nic Sheáin and, in 1961, they married. A few years later, he took the huge step of going to Queen’s University as a mature student, to undertake an honours degree in Celtic studies.

It was while studying and raising a young family that Seosamh participated in establishing the Shaw’s Road Gaeltacht. Initially, this composed of half a dozen families. They did most of the building work on the houses themselves, pooling their skills.

After university, he trained as a teacher. For more than 20 years he taught Irish in St Mary’s Christian Brothers Grammar School on Belfast’s Glen Road.

His achievements extended beyond the Irish language. As a young man, he was an all-round athlete, being a runner, cyclist and swimmer.

He is survived by his widow Caitlín (née Nic Sheáin), sisters Kathleen (Blaney) and Nell (Long), children Domhnall, Seán, Siubhán, Pilib and Eimer, and 10 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sisters Theresa (McCann) and Peggy.

Seosamh Mistéal born April 7th, 1927; died March 22nd, 2009