RICHARD WALL: Richard Wall, who has died aged 65, was Professor of English at the University of Calgary, Alberta, and an authority on Anglo-Irish literature with a particular interest in English-Irish, the Anglo-Irish dialect of English.
It was while working on his doctoral thesis in Ireland that he first became interested in English-Irish. Subsequently, in An Anglo-Irish Dialect Glossary for Joyce's Works (1986), he argued that James Joyce's use of the dialect gave rise to problems ranging from incomplete understanding to complete misunderstanding of parts of his work. Since Joyce selected the Anglo-Irish dialect with care and used it with precision, it demanded far more attention and understanding than it received.
In his last published work before his death, An Irish Literary Dictionary and Glossary (2001), Richard Wall listed approximately 3,600 headwords, complete with phonetic variants, etymological and semantic explanations and examples.
He subdivided Irish-English into "Hiberno-English in the south" and "Ulster-English in the northern region". He deplored the absence of a comprehensive national dictionary of the English spoken and written in Ireland, pointing to the fact that it appears, in varying degrees, in the works of all four Irish Nobel laureates in literature.
Richard Joseph Mary Wall was born on March 8th, 1937, the son of Joseph Wall and his wife Margaret (née Pierce) of Bridge Street, Ringsend. He was educated at Westland Row CBS and Blackrock College for which, as the "Bull" Wall, he played rugby. An avid reader from an early age, he made good use of Ringsend Public Library opposite his home.
His family emigrated to Canada in 1957 and he continued his studies at the University of Calgary where he received his B.Ed and M.A. degrees.
He completed a PhD thesis at University College, Dublin, in 1972. Appointed to the teaching staff of the English department at the University of Calgary in 1973, he was made a full professor in 1987.
In 1987, also, his translation of Brendan Behan's An Giall was published, along with the adaptation that resulted from the collaboration between Behan and Joan Littlewood. He argued that The Hostage, as staged by Theatre Workshop in London, was not a translation but another version of the original play.
Richard Wall edited Medieval and Modern Ireland (1988) and was the author of A Dictionary and Glossary for the Irish Literary Revival (1995). He was widely published in a host of academic and literary journals. His colleagues and students held him in high regard. He revelled in the rich language of Shakespeare, Joyce, Yeats and Heaney, all of whom he taught to appreciative classes down the years. He was a member of the Canadian Association for Irish Studies and an executive member of the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures. He was also a member of the Canadian Military History Association.
Richard Wall enjoyed the outdoor life, and sailing was a life-long passion. One of his earliest memories was of crossing the Dublin Bar sandbank at the mouth of the Liffey on sea-fishing trips with his father.
A member of Howth Yacht Club since 1970, he sailed as navigator in several Round Ireland races and in voyages from Howth to France, Portugal, Spain, North Africa, Scotland and Wales. He sailed frequently with his family off the coast of western Canada and the US. He maintained a holiday home in Sutton and spent at least three months in Ireland with his family each year.
Other interests included skiing, hiking and climbing in the Rockies. In his early days in Canada he followed the trails of the early Canadian explorer David Thompson.
Just weeks before his unexpected death he walked the snow-covered river paths near the mountain town of Canmore close to Banff National Park.
He is survived by his wife, Clair; daughters, Deirdre, Siobhan, Aisling and Ciara; and sisters, Mairead, Philomena and Veronica.
Richard Wall: born, March 8th, 1935; died, January 22nd, 2003