Jimmy Deenihan TD Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will this evening (Monday 11
th February, 2013) officially open an exhibition of the original drafts by Maurice Walsh of the iconic story
'The Quiet Man' in the Seanchaí Writers Museum, Listowel, Co. Kerry.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the first publication of The Quiet Man short story by the Irish author Maurice Walsh. In commemoration of this anniversary the University of Limerick Glucksman Library is hosting an exhibition of the original drafts of the iconic story in the Seanchaí Kerry Writers Museum in Listowel. The exhibition will run until St Patrick's Day.
The manuscripts on display come from the Maurice Walsh Papers which are held by the Special Collections Unit at the University of Limerick Glucksman Library.
Speaking at the official opening of the exhibition, Minister Deenihan said:
"Maurice Walsh had an impressive literary output. However, it is for the short story 'The Quiet Man' published on this day in 1933 that he is most widely remembered. The story of 'The Quiet Man' is a familiar one which has a deep resonance with Irish people, at home and abroad.
"I had the privilege of launching the inaugural Quiet Man Festival, in Cong County Mayo, in recent years and it was still palpable from the people there the tremendous legacy that the making of the film has for this village almost 60 years later. Many visitors cite seeing "The Quiet Man" as one of the reasons why they thought about coming to Ireland. And, it all started with the manuscript, we have on exhibition here in Listowel this evening.
"I would like to thank the University of Limerick Glucksman Library and the Seanchaí Kerry Writers Museum for working together to organise this exhibition, and hope that as many people as possible come to visit it over the coming weeks."
Maurice Walsh was born in Ballydonoghue, which lies between Ballybunion and Listowel in North Kerry. This region in Kerry is renowned for its writers, e.g. John B. Keane, Bryan MacMahon, Brendan Kennelly, Eamon Kelly and George Fitzmaurice. These writers are honoured in the Seanchaí Kerry Writers Museum in Listowel and it is very fitting that The Quiet Man manuscripts go on display there also.
Ends
Notes for the Editors:
Novelist and short story writer, Maurice Walsh (1879-1964) based the short story on Paddy Bawn Enright from his home in Kerry but changed the character’s name to Shawn Kelvin in the published story. The exhibition demonstrated how Maurice Walsh developed the story and how he was influenced by the editorial department of the Saturday Evening Post. The story was revised again by the author in 1935 when he included it in his novel Green Rushes.
The Quiet Man was first published as a short story in the Saturday Evening Post in the United States on 11th of February 1933. This was where the American film director John Ford first read the story. He secured the film rights shortly after but it was 1952 before his famous film was released. The University of Limerick holds a copy of this magazine as well as several handwritten and typescript drafts of the story and will exhibit them to the public in Listowel.