Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the

Irish Literary Revival The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, nicknamed the Celtic Twilight) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes works of poetry, music, art, and literature. O ...

Early life

Colum was born Patrick Columb in a

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

workhouse, where his father worked. He was the first of eight children born to Patrick and Susan Columb. When the father lost his job in 1889, he moved to the United States to participate in the

Colorado gold rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 ...

. Padraic and his mother and siblings remained in Ireland, having moved to live with his grandmother in County Cavan. When the father returned in 1892, the family moved to

Glasthule Glasthule ( ; ) is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is along County Dublin’s south coast, between Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey. Amenities Sandycove and Glasthule are served by a number of businesses and amenities, including retail outlets, pu ...

, near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, where his father was employed as Assistant Manager at

Sandycove and Glasthule railway station Sandycove and Glasthule railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Chuas an Ghainimh agus Glas Tuathail) serves the suburban areas of Sandycove (on the coast) and Glasthule (just inland) in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The building is on a brid ...

. His son attended the local national school. When Susan Columb died in 1897, the family was temporarily split up. Padraic (as he would be known) and one brother remained in Dublin, while their father and remaining children moved back to Longford. Colum finished school the following year and at the age of seventeen, he passed an exam for and was awarded a clerkship in the Irish Railway Clearing House. He stayed in this job until 1903. During this period, Colum started to write and met a number of the leading Irish writers of the time, including

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

and Æ. He also joined the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

and was a member of the first board of the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

. He became a regular user of the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...

, where he met

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

and the two became lifelong friends. During the riots caused by the Abbey Theatre's production of ''

The Playboy of the Western World ''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...

'' Colum's own father, Patrick Columb, was one of the protesters. Padraic himself was not engaged in the protests, although he did pay his father's fine afterwards. He was awarded a five-year scholarship by a wealthy American benefactor, Thomas Hughes Kelly.

Early poetry and plays

He was awarded a prize by

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty G ...

for his anti-enlistment play, ''The Saxon Shillin. Through his plays he became involved with the National Theatre Society and became involved in the founding of the

, writing several of its early productions. His first play, ''Broken Soil'' (revised as The Fiddler's House) (1903) was performed by W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic Company. ''The Land'' (1905), was one of that theatre's first great public successes. He wrote another important play for the Abbey named ''Thomas Muskerry'' (1910). His earliest published poems appeared in ''The United Irishman'', a paper edited by

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...

. His first book, ''Wild Earth'' (1907) collected many of these poems and was dedicated to Æ. He published several poems in

's paper, ''

The United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...

'' this time, with ''The Poor Scholar'' bringing him to the attention of

WB Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

. He became a friend of Yeats and

. In 1908, he wrote an introduction to the

Everyman's Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & Ni ...

edition of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

's ''

Tales of Mystery and Imagination ''Tales of Mystery & Imagination'' (often rendered as ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'') is a popular title for posthumous compilations of writings by American author, essayist and poet Edgar Allan Poe and was the first complete collection of ...

''. He collected Irish folk songs, and adapted some of them. In a letter to the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' in April 1970, he claimed to be the author of the words of " She Moved Through the Fair" (the music being composed by Herbert Hughes), using only a single verse from an old

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

folk song. In the same correspondence, however, another music collector, Proinsias Ó Conluain, said he had recorded a "very old" song from

Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 17 kilometres north west of Lisburn on the banks of the Glenavy River. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 5,697 people. In early documents it was known as Lena ...

with words the same as the other three verses of "She Moved Through the Fair". In 1911, with Mary Gunning Maguire, a student from UCD, and David Houston and

Thomas MacDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh ( ga, Tomás Anéislis Mac Donnchadha; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising ...

, he founded the short-lived literary journal ''The Irish Review'', which published work by Yeats, George Moore, Oliver St John Gogarty, and many other leading Revival figures. In 1912 he married Maguire. Padraic taught at Pádraig Pearse's experimental school, Scoil Éanna in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

, County Dublin and Mary Maguire taught at the girls' school, Scoil Íde (St. Ita's), which was set up in Cullenswood House,

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

, Dublin, once Scoil Éanna had moved to Rathfarnham. At first the couple lived in the Dublin suburb of Donnybrook, where they held a regular Tuesday literary salon. They then moved to

Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...

, a small fishing village just to the north of the capital. In 1914, they travelled to the US for what was intended to be a visit of a few months but lasted most of the rest of their lives.

Later life and work

In America, Colum took up children's writing and published a number of collections of stories for children, beginning with ''

The King of Ireland's Son ''The King of Ireland's Son'' is a children's novel published in Ireland in 1916 written by Padraic Colum, and illustrated by Willy Pogany. It is the story of the eldest of the King of Ireland's sons, and his adventures winning and then finding ...

'' (1916). This book came about when Colum started translating an Irish folk tale from

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

because he did not want to forget the language. After it was published in the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'', Hungarian Illustrator

Willy Pogany William Andrew Pogany (born Vilmos András Pogány; August 24, 1882 – July 30, 1955) was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's and other books. His contemporaries include C. Coles Phillips, Joseph Clement Coll, Edmund Dulac, Harvey Du ...

suggested the possibility of a book collaboration, so Colum wove the folktale into a long, epic story. Three of his books for children were awarded retrospective citations for the

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People *Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver *David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot *Francis Newbery (disambiguation), seve ...

. A contract for children's literature with

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

made him financially secure for the rest of his life. Some other books he wrote are ''The Adventure of Odysseus'' (1918) and ''The Children of Odin'' (1920). These works are important for bringing classical literature to children. In 1922 he was commissioned to write versions of Hawaiian folklore for young people. This resulted in the publication of three volumes of his versions of tales from the islands. At the suggestion of Dr Pádraic Whyte (School of English, Trinity College Dublin) a first edition of the first volume (''At the Gateways of the Day'') was presented to US president Barack Obama by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on the occasion of his visit to Dublin, Ireland on 23 May 2011. Colum also started writing novels. These include ''Castle Conquer'' (1923) and ''The Flying Swans'' (1937). The spent the years from 1930 to 1933 living in Paris and

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, where Padraic renewed his friendship with

and became involved in the transcription of ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...

''. After their time in France, the couple moved to New York City, where they did some teaching at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and

CCNY The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...

. Colum was a prolific author and published a total of 61 books, not counting his plays. He adopted the form of

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

drama in his later plays. While in New York, he wrote the screenplay for the 1954 stop-motion animated film ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

''. It was his only screenplay. Mary died in 1957 and Padraic finished ''Our Friend James Joyce'', which they had worked on together. It was published in 1958. Colum divided his later years between the United States and Ireland. In 1961 the Catholic Library Association awarded him the

Regina Medal The Regina Medal is a literary award conferred annually by the U.S.-based Catholic Library Association. It recognizes one living person for "continued, distinguished contribution to children's literature without regard to the nature of the contri ...

. He died in

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Longm ...

, age 90, and was buried in St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton. In 1965, Colum sold the notebooks, manuscripts, galley proofs, and letters that were in his apartments in New York and Dublin to the Binghamton University Libraries. He wished to make whatever resources he could available to scholars of Irish literature and history. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

'' the last name was the same as the word ''column''. "In my first name, the first ''a'' has the sound of ''au''. The ordinary pronunciation in Irish is ''pau'drig''."

Selected works

* (1902) ''The Saxon Shillin (Play) * (1903) ''Broken Sail'' (Play) * (1905) ''The Land'' (Play) * (1907) ''Wild Earth'' (Book) * (1907) ''The Fiddlers' House'' (Play) * (1910) ''Thomas Muskerry'' (Play) * (1912) ''My Irish Year'' (Book) * (1916) ''

'' (New Sample of old Irish Tales) * (1917) ''Mogu the Wanderer'' (Play) * (1918) ''The Children's Homer'', (Novel) Collier Books, * (1920) ''The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter'', (Novel) The Macmillan Company * (1920) ''Children of Odin: Nordic Gods and Heroes'' * (1920) '' The Boy Who Knew What The Birds Said'' * (1921) ''The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles'', (Novel), Ill. by

The Macmillan company * (1923) ''The Six Who Were Left in a Shoe'' (Children's Story) * (1923) ''Castle Conquer'' (Novel) * (1924) ''The Island of the Mighty: Being the Hero Stories of Celtic Britain Retold from the Mabinogion'', Ill. by Wilfred Jones, The Macmillan Company * (1924) ''At the Gateways of the Day (Tales and legends of Hawaii)'' * (1924) ''The Peep-Show Man'', The Macmillan Company * (1925) ''The Bright Islands'' (Tales and legends of Hawaii V2) * (1929) ''Balloon'' (Play) * (1930) ''Old Pastures'' * (1932) ''Poems'' (collected) Macmillan & Co * (1933) '' The Big Tree of Bunlahy: Stories of My Own Countryside'' (Children's stories) Ill. by

Jack Yeats Jack Butler Yeats RHA (29 August 1871 – 28 March 1957) was an Irish artist and Olympic medalist. W. B. Yeats was his brother. Butler's early style was that of an illustrator; he only began to work regularly in oils in 1906. His early pict ...

* (1937) ''Legends of Hawaii'' * (1937) ''The Story of Lowry Maen'' (Epic Poem) * (1943) ''The Frenzied Prince'' (Compilation of Irish Tales) * (1957) ''The Flying Swans'' (Novel) * (1958) ''Our Friend James Joyce'' (Memoir) (With Mary Colum) * (1963) ''Moytura: A Play for Dancers'' (Play) * (1965) ''Padraic Colum Reading His Irish Tales and Poems'' (Album,

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

) As screenwriter: * (1954) ''

'' As editor: * (1922) ''Anthology of Irish Verse'' Liveright, 1948; Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2009, * (1923) ''The Arabian Nights: Tales of Wonder and Magnificence''; The Macmillan Company * (1964) ''Roofs of Gold: Poems to Read Aloud,'' The Macmillan Company

Notes

References

Print *Bowen, Zack. ''Padraic Colum''. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970. *Denson, Alan. "Padraic Colum: An Appreciation with a Checklist of His Publications." ''The Dublin Magazine'' 6 (Spring 1967): 50–67. *Sternlicht, Sanford. ''Padraic Colum''. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985. * *Igoe, Vivien. ''A Literary Guide to Dublin''. Online
Short biography

External links

* * * * *
Works by Padraic Colum
at

The Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several feat ...

Padraic and Mary Colum Collection
at

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

Padraic Colum Collection
at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

Padraic Colum Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

Padraic Colum Collection
at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

Padraic Colum Plays Collection
at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

''Padraic Colum Reading His Irish Tales and Poems'' Album Details
at

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colum, Padraic 1881 births 1972 deaths American children's writers Irish folklorists Irish children's writers Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male dramatists and playwrights Newbery Honor winners People from County Longford Roman Catholic writers Burials at St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton Irish male novelists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters