deepen his commitment to the Irish language and heritage. Their first child was born in Spain. All their children, 5 sons and a daughter, were raised speaking both Spanish and Irish. In 1949, the family moved to Dublin, where they were part of a group which established the first gaelscoil, Irish language school, Scoil Lorcáin in Blackrock town hall. The school was not funded by the state, and was non-denominational. They were later involved in the foundation of a secondary gaelscoil, Coláiste Cualann, but this was not as successful. Later career Breatnach wrote for The Irish Times, the Sunday Review, the Irish Independent and Scéala Éireann. He wrote about his experiences in Spain and the Arabic world, and from 1950 wrote regularly and gave radio talks about maritime matters. He continued to write under the name Rex Mac Gall (MacGall), but also under Dara Mac Dara and Mac Lir when writing about political topics. The other outlets he wrote for included the Irish Farmers' Journal, Inniu, Feasta, and An Timire. He went on to become the features editor with The Irish Press, and journalist and sub-editor with the Irish Independent. He attended night classes in Irish at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) from 1958 to 1960, where he was taught by David Greene and Máirtín Ó Cadhain. He went to write more in Irish than English, publishing 5 children's books. He became interested in the life of William Bedell, and wrote The best of the English: a short account of the life and work of the bishop of Kilmore, William Bedell (1971). In 1993 he was awarded an M. Litt. from TCD, with his thesis on "An Púca", later published as Chugat an Púca (1994). He wrote and translated poetry from Spanish, Italian and Latin, published in Dánta amadóra (1998). A number of his poems and Irish language stories have been included in the Irish school curriculum. Breatnach also composed music, including a work dedicated to those who died on Bloody Sunday, and "An Ghailseach" inspired by his wife. He was an active, lifelong member of Conradh na Gaeilge, particularly in its social activities. He regularly visited the Aran Islands and Connemara to improve his Irish. He was an advocate for the use of Irish in all aspects of life, including from his motor insurance company, leading to a long running disagreement over the forms and documentation provided only in English.