Philosopher and poet who delved deep into Celtic spirituality – The Irish Times – Sat, Jan 19, 2008

John O’Donohue: John O’Donohue, who has died aged 52, was a poet, philosopher and best-selling author. Two books made him internationally famous, Anam Cara (1997) and Eternal Echoes (1998). He published two volumes of poetry, Echoes of Memory (1994) and Conamara Blues (2000). His most recent work, Benedictus: A Book of Blessings, was published last year.

Asked if he saw himself as a philosopher first and poet second or vice versa, he replied that he had always seen himself as a poet. He saw no tension between philosophy and poetry. “Literature and philosophy work together. Philosophy is about the articulation of knowledge.”

While his work was favourably reviewed by highly successful self-help gurus such as Larry Dossey and Deepak Chopra, he acknowledged that philosophical thought was not a popular medium, least of all in Ireland. “It is not an intellectual society – we lump things together.”

An ordained priest, he resigned from active public ministry in the late 1990s because of “a fundamental conflict with authority”. A friend remembers that parting from the institutionalised church “cut him to the core”. He then helped set up and teach a theology course at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.

John O’Donohue

John O’Donohue is an Irish poet and philosopher who lives in the solitude of a cottage in the West of Ireland and speaks Gaelic as his native language.