Brendan Kennelly Explained

Brendan Kennelly should not be confused with Brendan Kenneally.

Brendan Kennelly
Birth Date:17 April 1936
Birth Place:Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland
Death Place:Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland
Occupation:Writer, professor, translator
Alma Mater:Trinity College Dublin
Leeds University
Subject:Oliver Cromwell
Notableworks:"Poetry My Arse"
"Book of Judas"
"Cromwell" "Begin" "Poem from a three-year old"[1]
Children:Daughter, Doodle Kennelly[2]
Relatives:Three granddaughters: Meg, Hannah and Grace

Timothy Brendan Kennelly (17 April 1936 – 17 October 2021), usually known as Brendan Kennelly, was an Irish poet and novelist.[3] He was Professor of Modern Literature at Trinity College Dublin until 2005. Following his retirement he was a Professor Emeritus at Trinity College.

Early life

Kennelly was born in Ballylongford, County Kerry, on 17 April 1936.[4] He was one of eight children of Tim Kennelly and Bridie (Ahern). His father worked as a publican and garage proprietor; his mother was a nurse.[5] Kennelly was educated at the inter-denominational St. Ita's College, Tarbert, County Kerry. He was then awarded a scholarship to study English and French at Trinity College Dublin. There he was editor of Icarus and captained the Trinity Gaelic Football Club. He graduated from Trinity in 1961 with first-class honours, before obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy there in 1967.[6] He also studied at Leeds University for one year under the tutelage of Norman Jeffares.[5] [7] He became a fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 1967, and a senior fellow in 1989.[8]

Poetry

Kennelly's poetry can be scabrous, down-to-earth, and colloquial. He avoided intellectual pretension and literary posturing, and his attitude to poetic language could be summed up in the title of one of his epic poems, "Poetry my Arse".[7] Another long (400-page) epic poem, "The Book of Judas", published in 1991, topped the Irish best-seller list.

A prolific and fluent writer, there are more than fifty volumes of poetry to his credit, including My Dark Fathers (1964),[7] Collection One: Getting Up Early (1966), Good Souls to Survive (1967), Dream of a Black Fox (1968), Love Cry (1972), The Voices (1973), Shelley in Dublin (1974),[7] A Kind of Trust (1975), Islandman (1977),[9] A Small Light (1979),[10] and The House That Jack Didn't Build (1982).[7]

Kennelly edited several other anthologies, including "Between Innocence and Peace: Favourite Poems of Ireland" (1993), "Ireland's Women: Writings Past and Present, with Katie Donovan and A. Norman Jeffares" (1994),[11] and "Dublines," with Katie Donovan (1995). He also authored two novels, "The Crooked Cross" (1963) and "The Florentines" (1967),[7] and three plays in a Greek Trilogy, Antigone, Medea, and The Trojan Women.[12]

Kennelly was an Irish language (Gaelic) speaker,[13] and translated Irish poems in "A Drinking Cup" (1970) and "Mary" (Dublin 1987).[14] A selection of his collected translations was published as "Love of Ireland: Poems from the Irish" (1989).[15]

Style

Language was important in Kennelly's work – in particular the vernacular of the small and isolated communities in North Kerry where he grew up, and of the Dublin streets and pubs where he became both roamer and raconteur for many years.[16] His language is also grounded in the Irish-language poetic tradition, oral and written, which can be both satirical and salacious in its approach to human follies.[7] [12]

Regarding the oral tradition, Kennelly was a great reciter of verse with tremendous command and the rare ability to recall extended poems by memory, both his own work and others, and recite them on call verbatim.[17] He commented on his use of language: "Poetry is an attempt to cut through the effects of deadening familiarity … to reveal that inner sparkle."[16]

Personal life

Kennelly married Margaret (Peggy) O'Brien in 1969.[5] They were colleagues at the time,[5] and she taught at English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst at the time of his death.[18] Together, they had one child, Kristen “Doodle” Kennelly. They resided in Sandymount before getting divorced, which Kennelly attributed to his overindulgence in alcohol. He ultimately became teetotal in about 1985.[5] Doodle died in April 2021, six months before her father.[19]

Kennelly died on 17 October 2021, at a care home in Listowel, where he resided in the two years leading up to his death. He was 85 years old.[20] [21]

Awards and honours

List of works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brendan Kennelly . 14 December 2014 . dead . LaoisCentre.ie . https://web.archive.org/web/20071119005836/http://www.laoisedcentre.ie/LENGLISH/engrwww/kenn.html . 19 November 2007.
  2. News: wise kennelly's labours of love . Irish Independent. 23 December 2012.
  3. Book: McDonagh, John. Brendan Kennelly: a host of ghosts. 2004. Liffey Press. 978-1-904148-44-9.
  4. News: Brendan Kennelly at 80: forever beginning, the balladeer of our age. Gabriel. Fitzmaurice. 16 April 2016. 19 October 2020. The Irish Times. Dublin.
  5. News: Brendan Kennelly obituary: Gifted poet, academic and storyteller. 18 October 2020. 19 October 2020. The Irish Times. Dublin.
  6. Book: Sherlock, D.J.M. . 2006 . Trinity College Record Volume 2006 . Dublin . Trinity College Dublin Press . 1-871408-07-5.
  7. Web site: Brendan Kennelly. Katelyn. Ferguson. January 2016. 19 October 2021. Trinity College Dublin.
  8. Book: Webb, D.A. . Barlett . J.R.. 1992 . Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991 . Dublin . Trinity College Dublin Press . 1-871408-07-5.
  9. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Islandman: A Poem. Profile Press. 1977.
  10. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. A Small Light: Ten Songs of O'Connor of Carrigafoyle. Gallery Books. 1979.
  11. Book: Ireland's Women: Writings Past and Present. Gill & Macmillan. 1994. Donovan. Katie. Jeffares. Alexander Norman. Kennelly. Brendan. 9780717122028.
  12. Web site: Burns Visiting Scholars: Brendan Kennelly (Fall 2007). 19 October 2021. Boston College.
  13. News: Brendan Kennelly: friends and fellow writers pay tribute. Martin. Doyle. 18 October 2020. 19 October 2020. The Irish Times. Dublin. "As a public speaker and performer of his work – mostly in English, but occasionally in mellifluous Irish …".
  14. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. A Drinking Cup: Poems from the Irish. Figgis. 1970. 9780900372261.
  15. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Love of Ireland: Poems from the Irish. Mercier Press. 1989. 9780853428886.
  16. Web site: Brendan Kennelly. 7 June 2009. 19 October 2021. International Literature Festival Dublin. https://web.archive.org/web/20211019214654/https://ilfdublin.com/archive/brendan-kennelly/. 19 October 2021.
  17. News: Brendan Kennelly Lifetime Achievement Award. 1 June 2017. 19 October 2021. Bloodaxe Books. https://web.archive.org/web/20170712074457/https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?articleid=710. 12 July 2017.
  18. Web site: Faculty: Department of English. University of Massachusetts Amherst. umass.edu.
  19. News: Obituary: Doodle Kennelly, trailblazing writer who fearlessly tackled her mental health struggles. Irish Independent. 25 April 2021. Barbara. McCarthy.
  20. News: Irish poet and author Brendan Kennelly dies. 17 October 2021. 19 October 2021. BBC News.
  21. News: President leads tributes to poet Brendan Kennelly. Paschal. Sheehy. RTÉ. 18 October 2021. 19 October 2021.
  22. News: Provost Leads Tributes to Brendan Kennelly. Molly. Longstaff. 17 October 2021. 19 October 2021. The University Times. Trinity College Dublin.
  23. Web site: Brendan Kennelly. 19 October 2021. Kerry Writers' Museum.
  24. News: Rives takes Wild Geese award. 12 March 2005. 19 October 2020. The Irish Times. Dublin. https://web.archive.org/web/20211019103827/https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rives-takes-wild-geese-award-1.422624. 19 October 2021. live.
  25. News: Provost Leads Tributes to Brendan Kennelly. 1 February 2010. 19 October 2021. Trinity College Dublin.
  26. Book: Cast a Cold Eye. Dolmen Press. 1959. Kennelly. Brendan. Holzapfel. Rudi.
  27. Book: The rain, the moon. Dolmen Press. 1961. Kennelly. Brendan. Holzapfel. Rudi.
  28. Book: The Dark about Our Loves. John Augustine and Company. 1963. Kennelly. Brendan. Holzapfel. Rudi.
  29. Book: Green Townlands: Poems. University Bibliographical Press. 1963. Kennelly. Brendan. Holzapfel. Rudi.
  30. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Let Fall No Burning Leaf. New Square Publications. 1963.
  31. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. My Dark Fathers. New Square Publications. 1964.
  32. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Up and at it. New Square Publications. 1965.
  33. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Collection One: Getting Up Early. Figgis. 1966.
  34. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Good Souls to Survive: Poems. Figgis. 1967.
  35. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. The Florentines. Figgis. 1967.
  36. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Selected Poems. Figgis. 1969.
  37. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. The Penguin Book of Irish Verse. Penguin Books. 1971. 9780140421217.
  38. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. The Penguin Book of Irish Verse. Penguin Books. 1981. 9780140585261.
  39. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Shelley in Dublin. Dublin Magazine Press. 1974.
  40. Book: Kennelly, Brendan. Mary: (from the Irish). Aisling. 1987.

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