Padraic Fiacc
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Padraic Fiacc (born Patrick Joseph O'Connor; 15 April 1924 – 21 January 2019) was an
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
poet, and member of
Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...
, the exclusive Irish Arts Academy.


Biographical information

Born Patrick Joseph O'Connor in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
to Bernard and Annie (née McGarry) O'Connor, Fiacc's father was a barman who left for the United States when Fiacc was very young. Fiacc resided with his maternal grandparents who had recently moved to the Markets area of South Belfast after being burned out of their home in Lisburn in which all their furniture was burned by anti-Catholic rioters. His family emigrated to the United States in the late 1920s and he grew up in New York City. He returned to Belfast in 1946 where he lived for four years before returning to New York in 1950; he grew up in
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...
. The multicultural influences, coupled with the poverty and violence of the neighbourhood impacted Fiacc's outlook and his writing, especially his early writing.


Education and early writing

He attended Commerce High School and later changed to Haaren High School to learn Latin. While at school, he produced several original plays and his first collection of poetry titled ''Innisfail Lost''. The poems were reviewed by
Padraic Colum 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. Early life Col ...
who became a mentor to Fiacc, directing him away from themes of coming to America and encouraging him to research and write about his own people's history. Fiacc had already developed a distaste for America and found himself longing for Ireland as he dug deeper into its history and literary technique and style. Seminary was Padraic's next step. He attended St. Joseph's Seraphic Seminary and later studied with the Irish Capuchin Order for a total of three years spanning 1941–44. He includes in his main reasons for leaving the path to priesthood his lack of disciplinary habits and longing for a freer existence.


Relocation

On leaving the seminary, and to avoid signing up for military service, he returned to Belfast in 1946 where he lived for four years during which time his poetry was published in several magazines and the 1948 volume of ''New Irish Poets''. Fiacc was the youngest poet in that edition. Publications of Fiacc's work from this time may be found in ''Irish Bookman'', ''Irish Times'', ''Poetry Ireland'', and '' Rann''. In 1952, upon the death of his mother, Fiacc returned to New York to look after his alcoholic father and younger siblings. It was during this time that he met his soon-to-be wife Nancy, who had read and enjoyed some of his early writings. Fiacc was unsettled and returned to Belfast in 1956, settling in
Glengormley Glengormley () is the name of a townland (of 215 acres) and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Glengormley is within the urban area of Newtownabbey and the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is also situated in the ...
, a suburb of North Belfast, where they had a baby girl in 1962. He subsequently published a steady stream of poetry and other works.


Life in Belfast

Fiacc continued to write and won the 1957 AE Memorial Award. 1969 was a momentous year for Fiacc. The publishing of his first volume of poetry came alongside the return of pervasive violence. The breakdown of his marriage and his nerves, and the murder of a close friend, Gerry McLaughlin, ensued, as did his edited collection of poetry by his contemporaries surrounding the topic of the troubling times in Northern Ireland, ''The Wearing of the Black''. In the early 1970s, he met poet
Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (born 1952) is an Irish poet. Early life Gerald Dawe was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up with his mother, sister and grandmother. He attended Orangefield High School across the city in East Belfast, a leading progres ...
with whom he met regularly, corresponded, and later acted as mentor. Dawe published a steady stream of poetry and other pieces, and still resides in Belfast. He was a member of
Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...
, the Irish Arts Academy. In the 1980s, Fiacc collaborated with Seamus Carmichael, who produced a series of color linoleum prints, three based on poems from the "Missa Terriblis" collection and 7 based on work from "Woe to the Boy". These images were widely exhibited in Ireland in 1985 and 1986. Many artists have depicted the poet such as Neil Shawcross, Paul Bradley, Dan Dowling, Michael McKernon, Úna O'Grady, Rory Lambe and Photographers such as Frankie Quinn, Stevie Raeylon (Chicago) and Bill Kirk.


Death

Padraic Fiacc died on 21 January 2019 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, aged 95.


Books

* ''Woe to the Boy'' (1957) * ''By the Black Stream'' (Dublin, The Dolmen Press, 1969) * ''Odour of Blood'' (Kildare, The Goldsmith Press, 1973) * ''Nights in the Bad Place'' (Belfast, The Blackstaff Press, 1977) * ''The Selected Padraic Fiacc'' (The Blackstaff Press, 1979) * ''Missa Terriblis'' (The Blackstaff Press, 1986) * ''Ruined Pages: Selected poems'' (edited by
Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (born 1952) is an Irish poet. Early life Gerald Dawe was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up with his mother, sister and grandmother. He attended Orangefield High School across the city in East Belfast, a leading progres ...
and
Aodán Mac Póilin Aodán Mac Póilin (1948 – 29 December 2016) was an Irish language activist in Northern Ireland. Background Aodán Mac Póilin was born in Belfast and grew up in Norfolk Road in the Andersonstown area. His father worked as a civil servant a ...
), Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1994 * ''Semper vacare'' (Belfast, The Lagan Press, 1999) * ''Red Earth'' (The Lagan Press). * ''The Wearing of the Black'' (Editor; The Blackstaff Press, 1974). * ''SEA – sixty years of poetry (Edited and illustrated by Michael McKernon) MH Press 2006 * ''IN MY OWN HAND'' – poems written in the poets own hand. (Edited and illustrated by Michael McKernon)MH Press, 2012 * ''SEA – sixty years of poetry Padraic Fiacc - A Review and Critical Analysis by Dr Margaret Wright,(MH PRESS, 2020)


Film/Theatre

* 'Der Bomben Poet' a film by Georg Stephan Troller, 1980 (BXW) * 'A Tribute To Pádraic Fiacc' a short film by Michael McKernon, 2006 * 'STORMBIRD - Pádraic Fiacc in his own Words, Poems and Images' in Cinematic Theatre format, by Michael McKernon, 2015


Awards

* Æ Memorial Award (1957) * Poetry Ireland Award (1981)


Reviews

* Murphy, Hayden (1980), review of ''The Selected Padraic Fiacc'' and ''The Wearing of the Black'', in Bold, Christine (ed.), ''
Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...
'' No. 2, Spring 1980, pp. 47 – 49.


References


Further reading

* Brown, John, ''In the Chair: Interviews with Poets from the North of Ireland''. Salmon Publishing, 2002. * Fiacc, Padraic, ''Ruined Pages: Selected poems''. Eds
Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (born 1952) is an Irish poet. Early life Gerald Dawe was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up with his mother, sister and grandmother. He attended Orangefield High School across the city in East Belfast, a leading progres ...
and
Aodán Mac Póilin Aodán Mac Póilin (1948 – 29 December 2016) was an Irish language activist in Northern Ireland. Background Aodán Mac Póilin was born in Belfast and grew up in Norfolk Road in the Andersonstown area. His father worked as a civil servant a ...
. Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1994.


External links


Official website



Aosdána
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiacc, Padraic 1924 births 2019 deaths Irish poets Writers from Belfast Writers from Manhattan Aosdána members Male writers from Northern Ireland 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland Haaren High School alumni People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan