Roy McFadden facts for kids

Roy McFadden (born November 14, 1921 – died September 15, 1999) was a talented writer from Northern Ireland. He was a poet, an editor for magazines, and also worked as a lawyer. He started writing poetry at a very young age.

Roy McFadden: Poet, Editor, and Lawyer

Roy McFadden's first poem was published before he turned thirteen. He was inspired by magazines his father brought home and by a famous poetry book called Palgrave's Golden Treasury.

Helping Ulster Writers

In the 1940s, Roy McFadden became well-known for helping other writers from Ulster (Northern Ireland). He edited two collections of poems, Ulster Voices and Irish Voices, both in 1943.

In 1948, McFadden helped start a poetry magazine called Rann with Barbara Edwards. They worked together as editors for the magazine until it stopped publishing in 1953. Like another magazine before it, Rann focused on writers from the local region.

His Books and Poems

Roy McFadden wrote nine books of poetry. His first book was Swords and Ploughshares (1943), and his last, Last Poems, was published after he passed away in 2002. Some of his famous poems include "Saint Francis and the Birds" and "Independence".

His book, The Garryowen, was published as part of the Phoenix Living Poets series. More recently, his poem "Post-War" was included in a collection called Armistice: A Laureate's Choice of Poems of War and Peace in 2018.

There was a long time between 1947 and 1971 when he did not publish any new poetry collections. However, he kept writing and had many poems printed in newspapers and magazines, like The Irish Times, where he had sixty poems published during that time. His voice was also known on local BBC radio through a series called Poetry Notebooks. He also had several plays written in verse (like poems) broadcast on the radio.

Where His Work Is Kept

You can find Roy McFadden's personal writings and papers at Queen's University Belfast. His collection of books and journals about Irish and world literature, known as The Roy McFadden Library, is at Trinity College Dublin. A large collection of all his published work is kept at the South Bank Poetry Library in London.

His Personal Life

Roy McFadden was born in Downpatrick on November 14, 1921. His parents were Roland Victor McFadden and Maud Steele. Soon after he was born, his family moved to Belfast.

He went to Knock Grammar School and Regent House in Newtownards. Later, he studied Law at Queen's University and graduated in 1944. He became a successful lawyer and an important person in Belfast's writing community.

In 1952, Roy McFadden married Margaret Ferguson. They had three sons and two daughters together. For some years, he lived in Lisburn, County Antrim. He believed in peace and individual freedom, inspired by writers like Herbert Read and Alex Comfort. Roy McFadden passed away at his home in Belfast in 1999.