Ó Súilleabháin was persuaded to write his memoirs by George Thomson, a linguist and professor of Greek who had come to the island to hear and learn the Irish language.
Ó Súilleabháin blev overtalt til at skrive sine erindringer af George Derwent Thomson, en lingvist og professor i græsk, som var kommet til øen for at høre og lære det irske sprog.