Poet Seán Ó Ríordáin's letters donated to UCC 

Letters written to his close friend Isobel O'Shea between 1967 and 1976 mark a crucial period in Ó Ríordáin's life as he moved from poetry to prose as his principal medium

Seán Ó Ríordáin: 'While he is primarily remembered for his poetry, this collection, which includes letters, postcards and sketches, offers many valuable insights into cultural and political life in Ireland during the 1960s and ’70s.'

Letters from the influential Irish poet Seán Ó Ríordáin are being donated to University College Cork (UCC).

It is now 70 years since the publication of Ó Ríordáin’s influential poetry collection  Eireaball Spideoige. 

To mark the occasion, UCC honoured its long association with Ó Ríordáin with an afternoon of talks and poetry on Tuesday The event also featured the donation of a significant collection of letters written by Ó Ríordáin to the Boole Library.

The letters were written between 1967 and 1976, a crucial period in Ó Ríordáin's life as he moved from poetry to prose as his principal medium.

Addressed to his close friend Isobel O'Shea, the correspondence is full of wit and mischief that offer a useful corrective to our sense of the poet's life as blighted by solitude and illness. 

In 1967, Ó Ríordáin was made a part-time lecturer in University College Cork. Between 1969 and 1976 he was UCC's writer in residence.

Dr Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh of the Department of Modern Irish said Ó Ríordáin was a major figure in the literary life of 20th-century Ireland, and continues to influence writers today.

"These letters depict a different aspect of Ó Ríordáin's complex nature than the version we see in his poetry and journals," she said.

"While he is primarily remembered for his poetry, this collection, which includes letters, postcards and sketches, offers many valuable insights into cultural and political life in Ireland during the 1960s and ’70s.” 

Crónán Ó Doibhlin, interim university librarian/head of collections said Ó Ríordáin was recognised internationally as being one of the most powerful Irish-language poets of the 20th century.

"Ó Ríordáin’s personal library is already preserved in University College Cork, and it is a great honour for us to be able to place this important collection of letters alongside that library now, and make it accessible to the research community and students.” 

Speakers at Tuesday's event in UCC included Professor Louis de Paor, Dr Ríona Ní Churtáin, Professor Patricia Coughlan and Dr Stiofáin Ó Cadhla.