Brian Ó Cuív (20 November 1916 – 14 November 1999) was a Celtic scholar who specialised in Irish history and philology.

Life

Ó Cuív was professor of Celtic Studies at University College Dublin and later at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. His later years were devoted to the compilation of a catalogue of the Irish manuscripts in the University of Oxford. The completed catalogue was published after his death. He married Emer de Valera — a daughter of Éamon de Valera. They had nine children. Emer died in 2012. Their son — Éamon Ó Cuív — is a prominent Irish politician.

Surname

Ó Cuív's surname was changed from Ó Caoimh (O'Keeffe) by his father, Shán Ó Cuív, a Cork journalist, who in the early 20th century changed the spelling of his surname to conform with a simplified spelling system of his own invention, which he called An Leitriú Shimplí. The letter 'v' is extremely rare in Irish outside modern loanwords.

Works

His works include:

Footnotes