 The language laboratory which he set up in UCD was the first of its kind in any university in Ireland.His interest in seanchas (folklore) led to his publication of "Seanchas Thomáis Laighléis" in 1977, while his earlier work includes the ground-breaking study of the Cois Fharraige dialect (a variety of Connacht Irish), "Gaeilge Chois Fharraige