Frank O’Connor: A Man of Many Voices
09.09.2011
As one of Ireland’s greatest short-story writers, Frank O’Connor is to be honoured at University College Cork (UCC) on September 16th 2011. Frank O’Connor: A Man of Many Voices will feature live dramatic readings of the writer’s work as well as a film clip screening of O’Connor talking about his life. A roundtable debate with guest speakers Edna O’Brien (author), Eoghan Harris (journalist), Professor Colbert Kearney (UCC) and Professor Alan Titley (UCC) will take place from 6pm-7.30pm in Boole 1 Lecture Hall. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session with audience participation. It will be recorded for radio broadcast and will form part of a new and fascinating UCC six-part radio documentary on O’Connor. The event is organised in association with the Cork International Short Story Festival and Drs Hilary Lennon, Barry Monahan and Ger Fitzgibbon, UCC. Members of the public are invited to attend and admission is free.

Also on September 16th, UCC will launch a website on O’Connor, frankoconnor.ucc.ie. This site will be a cutting-edge e-learning resource for scholars and students alike, featuring new research content that includes articles, audio and visual links, news and event information.

Since Frank O’Connor’s untimely death in 1966 his widow, Harriet O’Donovan Sheehy, has been a passionate advocate in the management of the Frank O’Connor Estate. Earlier this year, UCC bestowed an honorary doctorate on Harriet in recognition of her benevolent support for education. By her donations to Boole Library, she has provided original resources of manuscripts, rare books and specialist archival material. “She has entrusted to UCC the custodianship of this important part of Ireland’s priceless literary heritage, thereby rendering UCC a destination of choice for all serious scholars of the short story, O’Connor, and Irish Studies”, said Professor Caroline Fennell, Head, College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences, UCC. Frank O’Connor: A Man of Many Voices is a fitting tribute to Frank O’Connor, who was born Michael O’Donovan in Cork City on September 17th1903. Writing under the pen name Frank O’Connor, he describes his Cork childhood in his autobiographical classic An Only Child. He became a director of the Abbey Theatre alongside W.B. 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.

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