Cathal Ó Sándair


Cathal Ó Sándair, anglicised as Charles Saunders, was one of the most prolific Irish language authors.

Biography

Charles Saunders was born in Weston-super-Mare, England to an English father named Simon Saunders and Irish mother, his family moved to Ireland when he was a child. His uncle was a professional boxer named Darky Saunders, who once fought Jimmy Wilde. While still a school boy, Ó Sandair published a story in the first issue of the magazine Gael Óg in 1938. His first novel appeared in 1943 and featured Réics Carló, the most famous Irish language detective. In addition to the many adventures of Réics Carló, Ó Sándair wrote a series of novels featuring the character Réamonn Óg. A third strand of his fiction centered on school adventures where boys and girls inevitably save the day. Ó Sándair is reputed to have published 160 books and sold more than 500,000 copies. In addition he also wrote a science fiction series about the space-pilot Captain Spéirling, which had certain similarities with Dan Dare.

Partial bibliography

From Foilseacháin an Ghúim: Index of An Gúm's Publications 1926-2003: