22 May 2007

Writer, Frank O'Connor goes online

Cork born writer, Frank O'Connor will be honoured today (May 22nd 2007) at University College Cork (UCC) with the launch of the 'Frank O'Connor Web Pages', a specially commissioned resource celebrating the work and life of the writer http://frankoconnor.ucc.ie/

Born Michael O'Donovan in Cork City on September 17th 1903, he wrote under the pen name Frank O'Connor, and describes his Cork childhood in the first volume of his autobiography An Only Child. He became a director of the Abbey Theatre alongside WB Yeats and wrote more than two hundred memorable stories. His collected works also include journalism, two novels, several plays, poetry, translations, literary and cultural criticism. His books have been translated into many languages and are read worldwide.

In 2006, Harriet O'Donovan Sheehy became aware that there was no authenticated website dedicated to the work and legacy of her late husband,. She also became aware that there were many websites containing spurious and incorrect facts (wrong date of birth, incorrect bibliography etc). Concerned by this, she approached UCC's Boole Library, with whom she had had a long association, and requested that the Archives Service co-ordinate what is to be the official Frank O'Connor website.

A number of academics both national and international were invited to add content to the site. Professor Michael Steinman of Nassau Community College, New York (author of several works on O'Connor) became the main contributor and advised in the decisions regarding content. Conall Ó Murchadha, a Galway-based freelance web designer, was commissioned and together with Professor Steinman and the Library Archivist, Carol Quinn, began work on the design and layout of the site. The visual element was drawn heavily from the Boole Library's own archive of O'Connor material. Three signatures were produced covering the three names he was known as: Michael O'Donovan, Micheál Ó Donnabhaín and Frank O'Connor. His daughter, Liadain O'Donovan provided commentary to accompany these signatures outlining the different sides of the man they represented.

Commenting on the O'Connor legacy, John Fitzgerald, University Librarian said: "We are very fortunate to hold an extensive collection of Frank O'Connor papers in UCC and to have been selected as the host for this definitive website. It is our intention that this site will support further public interest and scholarship in the life and work of this internationally recognised Irish writer."

The site, though designed as an academic resource, also includes archive video clips of O'Connor and taped recordings of the author reading some of his stories. Contemporary authors Richard Ford and Julian Barnes, both admirers of O'Connor's work, also lent their support. The website contains images from family collections never seen in public before now.

At the launch, Professor Colbert Kearney of the English Department, UCC will outline details of the first of a series of Frank O'Connor Lectures. Focusing on modern fiction, these will be annual series of talks by distinguished writers and critics, hosted in association with Anglo Irish Bank. "We are delighted that the inaugural lecturer will be Richard Ford, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Independence Day, The Sportswriter and The Lay of the Land" commented Professor Kearney. The lecture will take place on November 13th , 2007.

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