Cosslett Ó Cuinn


The Rev. Canon Cosslett Quinn, in Irish Cosslett Ó Cuinn was a priest of the Church of Ireland who translated the New Testament into Irish.
Quinn was born to Charles Edward Quinn, rector of Derriaghy, and Edith Isobel Wadell. He studied at Campbell College, Belfast, and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he received his Bachelor of Divinity in Theology in 1940.
Quinn was a poet, theologian, critic, biblical scholar, member of the ecumenical movement, and a scholar of the Irish language. During his studies, he developed a strong interest in Ulster Irish, and often visited the Irish-speaking Gola Island and Derrybeg. He also published articles in Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies on the dialects of Irish spoken on Rathlin Island and Kilkenny. Quinn compiled the folklore of native Irish speakers from the islands of Tory and Arranmore off the coast of County Donegal, including Róise Mhic Ghrianna.
While working in Belfast and Inishowen in 1931, Quinn was promoted to the post of deacon. In 1961, he was appointed professor of Biblical Greek at Trinity College, and began work on a new translation of the New Testament. He also translated the Book of Psalms and the Prayer Book of the Church of Ireland into Irish, as well as several Spanish works. Although it was unusual in his lifetime for Protestants to hold leading positions in the Irish language movement, Quinn was for a time President of Oireachtas na Gaeilge. He was made a canon of St Patrick's Cathedral in 1966, before retiring from the ministry in 1971.

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