Life and works of WB Yeats celebrated

THE life and works of William Butler Yeats were celebrated yesterday with the opening of a major exhibition in his honour.

Coinciding with the exhibition, a rare glimpse of his State funeral has been unveiled with the discovery of colour film footage of the occasion. The film, which was shot by an amateur cameraman, remained undiscovered until recently. It is now in the possession of the national film archive.

Family members, including the poet’s son Michael, were among the special guests at the launch of the exhibition, unveiled by Arts Minister John O’Donoghue.

Housed at the National Library of Ireland, Yeats: The Life & Works of William Butler Yeats, demonstrates the poet’s significance as a world literary figure and gathers for the first time some of the nation’s most important archive material.

Michael’s wife Gráinne, daughters Síle, Caitríona and Siobhán, poet SeamusHeaney and playwright Ulick O’Connor, were also at the exhibition, whichillustrates the breadth of Yeats’s publishing history while focusing on several books of special significance for their contribution to the book arts.

“WB Yeats was one of the most complex and interesting of Ireland’s geniuses, and one of the most significant influences on the formation of an Irish cultural identity,” said Aongus Ó hAonghusa, director of the National Library.

“We are delighted to have an opportunity to illustrate his legacy,” he said.

The Yeats collection was generously donated to the National Library by his family between 1959 and 2002 and reflects the large volume of Yeats’s publishedworks — more than 200 books — and his wide range of interests.