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Garry Bannister

Garry Bannister (1953 – ) travelled to Russia at the end of the 1970s where he helped to establish the first department of Modern Irish at Moscow State University. He has devoted many years to studying the writings of Thomás Ó Criomhthain, the literary works of Pádraic Ó Conaire and to the development of modern Irish literature in the first half of the 20th century. Amongst his many publications he has to his name a number of popular dictionaries, most recently the first mini-thesaurus for Irish speakers Teasáras Gearr Gailge Béarla and the now very popular Irish learner’s dictionary Foclóir Foghlaimeara.

Garry Bannister

Garry Bannister

Dr GARRY BANNISTER was educated at Trinity College Dublin, where he studied Irish and Russian. On a scholarship to Moscow in 1977, he received a degree in Russian language and literature and also completed a PhD in comparative linguistics. He set up the first Department of Modern Irish at Moscow State University in the early 1980s. Upon his return to Ireland, he taught at St Columba’s College in Dublin, where he was head of the Irish Department for nearly thirty years. He has also been a visiting lecturer on modern Irish literature at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.

He has worked on the translations of Irish literary classics such as An tOileánach with David Sowby, Cré na Cille with Alan Titley and Comhrá le Lí Hé with Gabriel Rosenstock. He is the author of Foclóir an Fhoghlaimeora, Labhair Rúisis Liom, Essential Irish, and three earlier editions of his Irish-English Thesaurus. More recently, his work includes the perennially popular Proverbs in Irish, What’s That as Gaeilge? An English-Irish Phrasebook and the first comprehensive translation of classical Zen koans in English and Irish, A Path Home – Conair Siar, all published by New Island.

Fuair an Dr GARRY BANNISTER a oideachas i gColáiste na Tríonóide i mBaile Átha Cliath, áit a ndearna sé staidéar ar an Ghaeilge agus an Rúisis. Chuaigh sé ar scoláireacht go Moscó i 1977. Ba ansin a bhain sé céim amach i dteanga agus i nualitríocht na Rúisise agus PhD sa teangeolaíocht chomparáideach.  I dtosach na n-ochtóidí chuir sé an chéad Roinn le Nua-Ghaeilge ar bun i StátOllscoil Mhoscó. Ar fhilleadh dó abhaile bhí sé ina cheannaire ar feadh tríocha bliain ar Roinn na Gaeilge i gColáiste Choilm Bhaile Átha Cliath. Agus, ó am go chéile, bhí sé ina léachtóir ar cuairt i gColáiste Phádraig, Droim Conrach, áit inar thug sé léachtaí ar Nualitríocht na Gaeilge.

Chomhoibrigh sé fosta in aistriúcháin ar thaiscí liteartha na Gaeilge le David Sowby (An tOileánach), Alan Titley (Cré na Cille), Gabriel Rosenstock (Comhrá le Lí Hé). Tá sé ina údar ar Fhoclóir an Fhoghlaimeora, Labhair Rúisis Liom, Essential Irish agus ar thrí eagrán níos luaithe den teasáras nua breisithe seo. Le déanaí, tháinig leabhair eile uaidh amhail an fhoinse thagartha úd ar a bhfuil buanghnaoi an phobail, Proverbs in Irish, What’s That as Gaeilge? An English-Irish Phrasebook agus aistriúcháin le tráchtaireachtaí ar na Cóáin chlasaiceacha Zen, A Path Home – Conair Siar, na leabhair uile sin foilsithe ag New Island.