Sean Mac Gearailt, who died on May 21st aged 85, was a former comptroller and auditor general who combined a lifetime of public service with a lifelong commitment to the Irish language.
He was born on November 1st, 1916, one of seven children of John and Mary Fitzgerald of Queen Street, Clonmel, Co Tipperary. Educated by the Christian Brothers at the High School, Clonmel, he followed his father, a postal worker, into the public service in 1935 when he was appointed a clerical officer in the Department of Justice. In 1936, he was transferred to the Department of Education where he became an executive officer.
Working by day, he continued his education at University College Dublin by night. He obtained an honours commerce degree, taking Spanish as a foreign language.
In 1944, he was seconded to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and was appointed assistant auditor in 1945. The comptroller and auditor general is charged with examining and reporting to Dáil Éireann on whether public funds and resources have been used in accordance with the law, managed to good effect and properly accounted for. Seán Mac Gearailt's keen mind, powers of observation and attention to detail made him ideally suited to this work.
He became, in turn, senior auditor, deputy director and secretary and then director of audit. He worked closely with the Dáil Public Accounts Committee during its investigation of the disposal of £100,000 voted for the relief of distress in Northern Ireland in 1969. (The committee found that the bulk of the money had been appropriated to other purposes.) In March 1973, he succeeded Eugene Suttle as comptroller and auditor general.
Seán Mac Gearailt represented Ireland on the audit board of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which later became the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, from 1959 to 1963 and sat on the audit board of the International Monetary Fund in 1971. He assisted in the foundation of the European Court of Auditors and in 1979 presided over the Conference of European Courts of Audit, which was held in Ireland. He retired in 1981.
Seán Mac Gearailt, a Gaelic speaker from his schooldays, was an Irish language enthusiast all his life. Soon after he began working in Dublin he joined Craobh Moibhí, a branch of Conradh na Gaeilge which met in Parnell Square. This was a time when young civil servants were the mainstay of the language movement.
He was elected to the national executive of Conradh na Gaeilge and from 1942 was tánaiste and then uachtaráin in 1945-'46 and again in 1952-'55.
In 1947, with Seosamh Ó Duibhthinn and Tomás Ó Muirceartaigh, he was entrusted with the task of founding the Conradh monthly magazine, Feasta. He played a pivotal role in putting the magazine on a sound footing, attracting such writers as Máirtín Ó Cadhain, whose radicalism he may not have approved of but whose talent he admired and encouraged. He also wrote the occasional editorial.
He was cathaoirleach of Oireachtas na Gaeilge from 1967 to 1970 and was associated with the transformation of the annual Oireachtas art exhibition into an important national group show. He was involved with Coláiste na Rinne for many years and usually spent his holidays in one or other of the Gaeltacht areas - Brú na Mí, Connemara, Kerry or Ring.
From 1958 to 1963 he served as secretary of the Commission for the Restoration of the Irish Language on secondment from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. His friend, An tAthair (later Cardinal) Tomás Ó Fiaich chaired the commission which published its final report in January 1964. The Government's White Paper followed in 1965.
As a young man, Seán Mac Gearailt played hurling for Fontenoy's GAA club which was based in Ringsend. He continued to be involved with the game in later life, chairing Có-Choiste na Cluichí, the joint Conradh na Gaeilge-Oireachtas na Gaeilge body which organised the annual Oireachtas inter-county hurling tournament.
He was an avid reader, with a substantial library of books in Irish and English, and enjoyed collecting works by contemporary Irish artists.
Seán Mac Gearailt was a loyal public servant who jealously guarded the independence of his office. Guided by a strong sense of duty, he served the State well and was noted for his courtesy and good humour.
He is survived by his wife Mona and son Eoin.
Seán Mac Gearailt: born 1916; died, May 2002