Born at 53 Gladstone Street, Clonmel, Irish-language scholarÓ Conbhuidhe was born James Conway but later took the name Fr. Colmcille whenhe was ordained a monk in 1936.
Spending much of his life as a monk at Mellifont Abbey, hehas been described as ‘our most authoritative historian of the Cistercian Orderin Ireland’.
In his obituary from The Nationalist from February 1993. Dr.Geraldine Carville called O Conbhuidhe ‘a man of many gifts, researcher,historian, lecturer, poet, musician, composer, arranger, photographer, wood-carver,an ardent patriot and lover of all things Irish.
He was made a Freeman of the Borough of Clonmel on 22 April1989. At the ceremony, he was described as ‘Clonmel’s most famous literary son’,a ‘lover of the Irish language and of Ireland’ and ‘a great Clonmel man’.
Sources:
The Nationalist, 29/04/1989, p20
The Nationalist, 13/02/1993, Geraldine Carville article
https://www.dib.ie/biography/o-conbhuidhe-conway-seamus-colmcille-a9590
