Irish poet and educator, Sean Lucy, circa 1975

Sean Lucy (March 12, 1931 – July 25, 2001) was an Irish poet and educator.

Biography

Lucy was born in Bombay, British India in 1931. His father was an Irish officer in the British army, who resigned his commission in 1935 to resettle the family in Ireland. Lucy was enrolled at

Glenstal Abbey School Glenstal Abbey School is an all boys independent day and boarding Roman Catholic secondary school, located on the grounds of Glenstal Abbey in Murroe, County Limerick. It is run by monks of the Benedictine order. The school offers seven-day ful ...

, and later attended University College Cork, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees. In 1954, he moved to England where he served two years as an education officer in the British army. He subsequently taught for four years at Prior Park College in Bath as a Senior English Master. During this time, he married Patricia Kennedy, his first wife, with whom he had five children. Lucy returned to Ireland in 1960 and joined the English faculty at University College Cork (UCC) in 1962, where he eventually became professor and department chair. The composer

Sean O Riada Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angliciz ...

who lectured in music at the university from 1963 to 1971, was a friend. During this time, he published his first major critical work, ''TS Eliot and The Idea of Tradition'' (1960). He continued to write and edit critical works in English and Irish including Love Poems of the Irish (1967), as well as his own creative works in poetry. A collection, ''Unfinished Sequence and Other Poems'' was published in 1979. Also in 1979, he co-founded the University College Cork, Summer School for American students. During the 1980–81 academic year, he served as visiting professor in the English department at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

. Following his early retirement from UCC in 1986, Lucy moved to Chicago and married his second wife, fellow poet, Susan Leah Lederman. During these years, he taught Irish Literature at Loyola University, the

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

and the

Irish American Heritage Center The Irish American Heritage Center (Irish: ''Ionad na Oidhreachtas Éire-Mheiriceánach'') is a non-profit organization located in Chicago that seeks to enhance the study of Irish culture with programming centered on Irish dance, literature, herita ...

. He died of a heart attack in 2001 following a traffic accident. Lucy was involved in bringing the poet John Montague to the English Department at UCC, and the poets and writers

Greg Delanty Greg Delanty (born 1958) is an Irish poet. An issue of the British magazine, ''Agenda'', was dedicated to him. Early life and education Delanty was born in Cork City, Ireland, and is generally placed in the Irish tradition, though he is also c ...

, William Wall,

Theo Dorgan Theo Dorgan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer, translator, librettist and documentary screenwriter. He lives in Dublin. Life Dorgan was born in Cork in 1953 being second child born into a family of 8 boys and 8 girls to pare ...

, Sean Dunne, Maurice Riordan, Gerry Murphy and Thomas McCarthy were students of Montague and Lucy at UCC in the 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucy, Sean 1931 births 2001 deaths Irish poets