Breandβn Mac Aodha, who died on July 20th aged 67, was both an academic of international standing and a pioneer in education.
He established geography as a separate distinct discipline in University College, Galway, and in providing courses in both Irish and English, made it possible for Irish-speaking students to pursue, for the first time, a degree course entirely in their native language.
He was born in Belfast in January 1934 and educated at Rosario Public Elementary School and St Malachy's College (l946 - 51). His choice of Latin, Greek, Irish and Spanish, among other subjects, was an early indication of his interest in languages and European culture.
At Queen's University, Belfast, he studied geography under Prof Estyn Evans, taking an honours BA degree in 1956, followed by an MA (1958) with his thesis, The pattern of farming in Co Tyrone.
While he was greatly influenced by Evans's approach to historical geography - the study of cultural landscapes, customs and folklore to detect evolving spatial patterns - Breandβn Mac Aodha employed an additional research tool in his own work, namely the linguistic/literary approach.
The study of place names and their value in the understanding of geography was a vital element in his methodology and in time came to dominate his research.
In 1958, he was appointed head of the Geography Department in St Patrick's Teacher Training College, Drumcondra, Dublin. His desire to contribute to new geography syllabi, both in methodology and content, led him to co-author, with Austin Currie, Ireland: A Systematic and Regional Geography (1968), which included themes not previously covered in school textbooks, such as the concept of regions, house types, population and soils.
In 1962, he took up a lectureship in geography at University College, Galway, and was appointed professor in 1967 (at the age of 33), a position he retained until his retirement in 1999.
During his time at UCG, he designed a new geography syllabus which offered a full range of courses, including political geography, place names and military geography.
Perhaps the most impressive single piece of work to emerge from the geography department in its early years was the Galway Gaeltacht Survey (1969). Breandβn Mac Aodha directed the compilation of this monumental work which was by far the most comprehensive survey of a Gaeltacht region ever undertaken.
In keeping with his view that geography was a key bridging subject linking the humanities and the sciences, he played a major role in establishing the Social Sciences Research Centre in UCG in 1965 to promote interdisciplinary research. Ensuing publications included An Outline Plan for Galway City, Conacre in Ireland and An Agricultural Atlas of Co Galway.
His work on the study of place names grew out of his interest in both geography and Irish literature and he maintained that place-name study in Ireland had its roots in the Dinnseanchas, topographical poems and prose occurring mainly in Middle Irish.
His own research in this area was centred largely on the elucidation of geographical patterns. Over a period of a quarter-of-a-century he was the author of numerous articles on geography, folklife and place names in a wide variety of publications, including journals in Japan and the United States.
Beyond the ambit of his prolific personal research lay his work in the broader sphere of academic activity.
He was a member of An Coimisi·n Logainmneacha and also of its sub-committee on street names, which prepared Srβidainmneacha: Treoirl∅nte (1962).
He served on An Coiste TΘarma∅ochta (An Roinn Oideacais) which published Focl≤ir T∅reola∅ochta (1972) and T∅reola∅ocht agus PlΘanβil (1981). He also edited Srβidainmneacha na h╔ireann (1998). He was one of the founder members of Studia Hibernica and was editor of Hereditas (1975) and Topothesia (1982).
However, he did not restrict himself to work within Irish horizons, and both travelled and studied extensively abroad. He was a visiting fellow at St Edmund's College, Cambridge (1973).
He took a course in Arabic studies while visiting Egypt in 1963 and learned Portuguese to help in his research work in the Iberian Peninsula (1972 and 1980).
He also had a deep interest in European literature and translated some of the poetry of Lorca, Becquer and Machado into Irish.
His appreciation of modern Irish writing led to his compiling and editing two collections of poems and short stories by contemporary Irish authors, including Mβirt∅n ╙ Direβin, Seβn ╙ R∅ordβin and Mβirt∅n ╙ Cadhain, under the title Cnuasach 1966 and Cnuasach 2, 1968, (Scepter Publications).
Breandβn Mac Aodha was a poet in his own right, and with the help of his youngest daughter Aifric, published earlier this year his collected poems, Uaimheola∅ocht (CoiscΘim 2001).
He was predeceased by his wife ═de in 1998 and his daughter ╔abha in 1974. Breandβn Mac Aodha is survived by his sons, ╔amonn, D≤nall, Mβirt∅n and Tomβs; daughters, Fionnuala, Aifric and SinΘad; brother Martin and sisters, Anne and Kay.
Breandβn Mac Aodha: born 1934; died, July 2001