Helen O'Clery (née Gallagher) (1910 – 11 October 2006) was an Irish writer specializing in children's books.

Early life

O'Clery was born as Helen Gallagher in

Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the River Finn (County Donegal), Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River F ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, the middle child of three born to Henry Thomas Gallagher and Eileen Cullen Gallagher.Anne O'Clery Shouldice (2005)
"Helen O'Clery (nee Gallagher), Writer"
South Dublin Libraries. Her father was Crown Solicitor for County Donegal. Her mother came from

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

. Her mother started several small industries to employ local girls and Belgian refugees. A

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

proved very successful. Her father joined her mother in the business, and they established Urney Chocolates in Dublin; it developed into one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in Europe. Helen Gallagher attended schools in Dublin and France, and trained as a nurse at St Vincent's Hospital in

Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by L ...

Career

O'Clery was trained as a nurse and a physiotherapist, but she wrote children's books while she was at home raising her five children. Her writing was a family business: some of her books were illustrated by her elder daughter Ann, and her manuscripts were typed by her sister-in-law, Una Coonan. Her Pegasus books included maps drawn by her son Edward. O'Clery also took an intense interest in Irish pre-history and archaeo-astronomy, studying and surveying the stone circle at Athgreany, near

Hollywood, County Wicklow Hollywood () is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is south of Naas on the Wicklow Gap road near its junction with the N81 road (Ireland), N81 road. It is known for its pre-1950s themed fair which takes place in August of every yea ...

, and photographing them especially at each solstice and equinox. She published her research as ''Athgreany Stone Circle: The Stones of Time'' (1990) and later as ''Zodiacal Archetypes in Celtic Myths'' (1992).

Bibliography

*''Sparks Fly'' (Collins, London, 1948) *''Spring Show'' (Collins, London, 1949) *''Swiss Adventure'' (Collins, London, 1951) *''The Mystery of Black Sod Point'' (Franklin Watts, Inc. New York, 1959) *''The Mystery of the Phantom Ship'' (Franklin Watts. Inc., New York, 1961) *''Mysterious Waterway'' (Allen Figgis, Dublin, 1963) *''Rebel Sea Queen'' (Franklin Watts, New York, 1965) *''The Pegasus Book of Ireland'' (Dennis Dobson, London, 1967) *''The Pegasus Book of Egypt'' (Dennis Dobson, London, 1968) *''The Pegasus Book of the Nile'' (Dennis Dobson, London, 1970) *''The Pegasus Story of Atlantis'' (Dennis Dobson, London, 1971) *''The Pegasus Book of East Africa'' (Dennis Dobson, London, 1972) *''Athgreany Stone Circle: The Stones of Time'' (Al Morrison, New York, 1990) *''Zodiacal Archetypes in Celtic Myths'' (Al Morrison, New York, 1992)

Edited readers

Helen O'Clery also compiled and edited readers, including ''The Ireland Reader (1963),'' ''The Mermaid Reader'' (1964), and ''Queens, Queens, Queens'' (1965)''.''

Personal life

In 1936, Helen Gallagher married Dermot O'Clery, a civil and mechanical engineer who later taught at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. They lived at

Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...

, in County Dublin and had five children, Ann, Henry, Peter, Edward and Eliza. Helen O'Clery was widowed in 1977, and she died in 2006, aged 96 years, while living with her daughter in

Knocklyon Knocklyon () is a suburb of the city of Dublin, located in South Dublin, Ireland. Unlike many Dublin suburbs, Knocklyon was not developed around a village; rather it largely consists of modern housing, with a number of old cottages and farmhous ...

. There is a collection of her manuscripts in the

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection The McCain Library and Archives is the chief reserve library for The University of Southern Mississippi. It houses the items in Southern Mississippi's possession that are not available for checkout. Besides being the archives, the building also ...

at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oclery, Helen 1910 births 2006 deaths Irish women short story writers Irish women novelists 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish women writers 20th-century Irish short story writers People from Stranorlar Writers from County Donegal