Patrick Galvin facts for kids

Patrick Galvin (born 15 August 1927 – died 10 May 2011) was a famous Irish poet, singer, and writer. He was born in the city of Cork, Ireland. He wrote plays, poems, and stories, and even screenplays for movies.

About Patrick Galvin

His Early Life and Family

Patrick Galvin was born in Cork in 1927. This was a time when Ireland was going through big political changes. His mother and father had different ideas about Ireland's future. His mother supported the Republicans, and his father supported the Free Staters. These different views caused some tension at home. This family background later inspired his poem "My Father Spoke with Swans" and his book Song For a Poor Boy.

Patrick loved to read and taught himself a lot about literature. He enjoyed Russian, French, and Irish classic books. His early poems were influenced by old Irish poetry. Later, his poems showed more international styles and ideas.

A Difficult Childhood

When Patrick was young, he was sent to a place called Daingean industrial school. This was a tough experience for him. The school was known for not treating young people well. This time had a strong impact on his early poems. These poems often talked about the fear and harshness he felt there.

In his book Song For a Raggy Boy, he wrote about these experiences. He also connected them to the events of World War II in Europe. Ireland chose to stay neutral during the war. Patrick disagreed with this. In 1943, he joined the Royal Air Force to fight. His book Song for a Flyboy (2003) shares his war experiences. His play The Devil’s Own People (1976) also spoke out against Ireland's neutrality when fascism and the Holocaust were happening.

A Writer and Musician

After some time, Patrick became well-known as a folk singer and songwriter. He collected many folk songs and recorded nine albums of them. He also published a book called Irish Songs of Resistance 1798 -1922. He traveled a lot during this period, even visiting East Germany. These travels influenced his writing and his life.

He started publishing his poems in important English and Irish magazines. He also helped start a literary magazine called Chanticleer. His first collection of poems, Heart of Grace, came out in 1957. His second, Christ in London, followed in 1960.

Becoming a Playwright

Around this time, Patrick also started writing plays in London and Dublin. His plays were sometimes watched closely by the Catholic Church in Ireland. For example, they felt his play Cry the Believers was not suitable for young people. Because of his bold writing, one critic called him the "Enfant terrible of the Irish Theatre." This means he was seen as a rebellious and exciting new talent.

Patrick returned to Ireland in the 1960s. However, he found it hard to fit in with the very traditional way of life there. So, he went back to London and also spent time in Israel.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1973, Patrick came back to Ireland again, this time to Belfast. He became the Writer in Residence at the Lyric Theatre. His third poetry collection, The Woodburners, was also published then. His time at the Lyric Theatre helped him become a very exciting playwright.

His play We Do It For Love was a very popular show. It was the first comedy play about "the Troubles" (a time of conflict in Northern Ireland). This play broke all records for an Irish play at the Lyric Theatre. Patrick inspired many new writers in Northern Ireland through his work there. His last play at the Lyric was My Silver Bird. It was a musical play about the life of Grace O'Malley, a famous Irish pirate queen.

Return to Cork and New Projects

Later, Patrick lived in Spain, where he finished his fourth poetry collection, Folktales for the General. In the 1980s, he returned to Cork. He began working on his life story, which became three books: Song for a Poor Boy, Song For a Raggy Boy, and Song for a Flyboy. In 1997, he wrote the movie script for Song For a Raggy Boy. The movie first showed at the Cork Film Festival in 2003.

Patrick was a Writer in Residence at several places, including University College Cork. There, he received a special degree in Literature in 2006. He also helped start the 'Poetry Now Festival', which became Ireland's most important poetry festival. With his wife, Mary Johnson, he co-founded the Munster Literature Centre in Cork. This center created the Frank O'Connor Festival and the 'Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award', which is one of the biggest in the world.

Throughout his life, Patrick adapted his own works and others' for radio. He traveled widely, giving readings of his stories and poems. Many of his recordings are kept in the Library of Congress in Washington. In 1984, he was chosen to be a member of Aosdána, a group of Irish artists. Patrick had a stroke in 2003. Even after this, in 2005, he helped translate a collection of poems called 'Everything But You' by a Turkish poet named Yilmaz Odabashi.

Patrick Galvin passed away on 10 May 2011. He is remembered for his powerful writing and his contributions to Irish literature and music.

Selected works

Music history

• Irish Songs of Resistance, Worker's Music Association 1955

Prose and poetry

• Heart of Grace, Linden Press 1957
• Christ in London, Linden Press 1960
• Five Cork Poets, Mercier Press 1970
• Letter to a British Soldier on Irish Soil 1972
• The Wood Burners, New Writers Press, Dublin 1973
• The Prisoners of the Tower, Cork University Press 1979
• Man on the Porch, 1979 (Martin Brien & O'Keeffe (ISBN: 0-85616-161-6)
• Folk Tales for the General, Raven Arts Press, Dublin, 1989
• Song for a Poor Boy, Raven Arts Press, Dublin 1990
• Song For a Raggy Boy, Raven Arts Press, Dublin 1991
• The Death of Art O'Leary, 1994
• New and Selected Poems, Cork University Press, 1996
• The Raggy Boy Trilogy, New Island Books, Dublin 2002

Plays

• And Him Stetched, 1961 Unity Theatre London
• Cry The Believers, 1962 Eblana Theatre, Dublin
• And Him Stretched, 1962 Eblana Theatre, Dublin
• Boy in the Smoke, 1965 BBC Wednesday Play
• Nightfall to Belfast', 1973 Lyric Theatre, Belfast
• The Last Burning, 1974 Lyric Theatre, Belfast
• We Do It For Love, 1975 Lyric Theatre, Belfast
• The Devil's Own People, 1976 Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
• The Class of '39, 1980 BBC Radio 4
• My Silver Bird, 1981 Lyric Theatre, Belfast
• City Child, Come Trailing Home, 1983, RTÉ Radio
• Landscape and Seascape, 1983, RTÉ Radio
• Quartet for Nightown, 1984, RTÉ Radio
• Wolfe, 1984, RTÉ Radio
• The Cage, 2006, Cork Arts Theatre, Cork