Margaret Heavey

Margaret Mary Heavey (18 October 1907 – 15 February 1980) was a polyglot and classics scholar. She taught in the Classics department at University College Galway from 1931 to 1980, and worked primarily in Irish, translating from Greek and Latin along with writing original works.

She is now honoured and remembered through the Margaret Heavey Memorial Lecture, an annual event held at NUI Galway, featuring a lecture by a chosen speaker. The last speaker, Prof. Hans van Wees (Grote Professor of Ancient History, university College London) spoke on 'The rise of a slave-owning society in early Greece'.

Upon her death in 1980, she donated to NUI Galway to establish the Athenry Prizes. The prize value is €300 and is awarded to students who obtain excellent results in Classics.

Early life and education Born in Athenry,

Career Heavey graduated with a BA from UCG (University College Galway) in 1927 and earned a Higher Diploma in Education and an MA in Classics in 1928. Whilst in the same year she won the National University of Ireland Travelling Studentship in Classics, allowing her to spend the next 2 years studying in Munich.

Heavey was appointed to the Classics Department in University College Galway in 1931. She eventually became the Professor of Classics (lecturing on Latin through Irish) from 1958 to 1977 and Dean of Arts from 1970 to 1976. She looked after her mother until her death in 1970 at which point she gave a home to her niece Ann, Ann's husband and their three children. Despite retiring, Heavey continued to be a lecturer in the university until she felt ill. She died three days later on 15 February 1980.

She was well respected for her work in translations from Greek and Latin into Irish, allowing Irish students the opportunity to study these texts in the language. Síle Ní Mhurchú looked at significant individuals who contributed in this area and made reference to Heavey under 'Other Translators and Editors'. D. E. W. Wormell (Prof. of Latin at Trinity College, Dublin) said this in testimonial upon the occasion of her promotion to Professor in 1958."The standard attained by her pupils was high, and they combined accuracy and freshness of approach in a way that suggested thorough preparation by a teacher who was ready to take pains over fundamentals while welcoming originality… her mastery of Greek and Latin shows her to be an exceptionally gifted linguist with a feeling for language and a sense of style." - D. E. W. Wormell (Prof. of Latin at Trinity College, Dublin)