Ó Broin, León

Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature, The, January, 2000 by ROBERT WELCH

Ó Broin, León (1902–1996), bilingual author. Born and educated in Dublin, he was called to the Bar in 1924 and served for many years from 1925 in various ministries, including the Department of Education, where he was active in setting up An Gúm . He issued Irish story collections in 1923, 1924, and 1929, and later wrote a number of plays, besides translating works into Irish.

His historical and biographical works include The Unfortunate Mr. Robert Emmet (1958) and Fenian Fever (1971). The Chief Secretary (1969) is a study of Augustine Birrell. Just Like Yesterday is an autobiography (1985).