Bible in Irish

The translation of the Bible into vernacular languages came about as a result of the Reformation, but in Ireland an added incentive was given by the need to convert the Gaelic-speaking Irish from Catholicism to Protestantism. Soon after the beginning of her reign (1558) Elizabeth I paid for founts and a printing press in order that the New Testament be translated into Irish. Nevertheless it was not until 1602 that the translation appeared, the outcome of work conducted since the early 1560s, but delayed, according to Uilliam Ó Domhnaill [see William Daniel], by ‘Sathan’ and ‘Romish seducers’. In 1634 William Bedell called for the translation of the Old Testament. He was helped by Muircheartach Ó Cionga (d. 1639) and others at his house in Kilmore. The translation was complete by 1640, but it remained unpublished until 1685, when it was revised under the patronage of Robert Boyle (1627-91). In 1690 Boyle paid for the reprinting of the Old and New Testaments together for use in Scotland, and the entire Bible was issued for the first time as An Bíobla Naomhtha, published in London using Roman typeface. In 1810 the Bible Society reprinted the New Testament, under James McQuige's editorship, and in 1817 he edited the entire Bible for the Society. In 1945 the Irish Catholic hierarchy established a commission to undertake a translation of the New Testament. In 1966 a steering committee, including Tomás Ó Fiaich and Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, was set up to translate the entire Bible, based on the original texts, resulting An Bíobla Naofa (1981).

Bibliography

Nicholas Williams, I bPrionta i Leabhar (1986).