Patrick Galvin (15 August 1927 â€" 10 May 2011)[1] was an Irish poet,
singer, playwright, and prose and screenwriter born in Cork's inner
city.Galvin was born in Cork in 1927 at a time of great political
transition in Ireland. His mother was a Republican and his father a
Free Stater which gave rise to ongoing political tension within the
household and later informed his well loved poem "My Father Spoke with
Swans" and his autobiographical memoir Song For a Poor Boy.[2] An
autodidact, he came to know and love literature through the Russian,
French and Irish classics. His early poetry shows the influences of
Gaelic poetry whilst his later poetry reflects more international
rhythms and themes. He had grown up during the time of the Spanish
Civil war under the shawl of his mother's Republican politics and
later discovered a great affinity with the Andalusian poet, Federico
GarcÃa Lorca; these influences are evident in his epic poem about
Michael Collins, 'The White Monument'. His childhood ended
dramatically when he was sent to Daingean industrial school, noted for
its abuse of young people in its care. This experience had a powerful
influence on his earlier poetry which expresses the fear and brutality
of that time:[3]In his prose memoir Song For a Raggy Boy he
contextualises those experiences within the Europe of the second world
war. Irritated by Ireland's neutral stance he joined the Royal Air
Force in 1943. His anti-war memoir Song for a Flyboy from 2003 records
his war experiences and his play The Devil’s Own People from 1976
denounces Ireland's neutrality in the face of fascism and the
Holocaust.
singer, playwright, and prose and screenwriter born in Cork's inner
city.Galvin was born in Cork in 1927 at a time of great political
transition in Ireland. His mother was a Republican and his father a
Free Stater which gave rise to ongoing political tension within the
household and later informed his well loved poem "My Father Spoke with
Swans" and his autobiographical memoir Song For a Poor Boy.[2] An
autodidact, he came to know and love literature through the Russian,
French and Irish classics. His early poetry shows the influences of
Gaelic poetry whilst his later poetry reflects more international
rhythms and themes. He had grown up during the time of the Spanish
Civil war under the shawl of his mother's Republican politics and
later discovered a great affinity with the Andalusian poet, Federico
GarcÃa Lorca; these influences are evident in his epic poem about
Michael Collins, 'The White Monument'. His childhood ended
dramatically when he was sent to Daingean industrial school, noted for
its abuse of young people in its care. This experience had a powerful
influence on his earlier poetry which expresses the fear and brutality
of that time:[3]In his prose memoir Song For a Raggy Boy he
contextualises those experiences within the Europe of the second world
war. Irritated by Ireland's neutral stance he joined the Royal Air
Force in 1943. His anti-war memoir Song for a Flyboy from 2003 records
his war experiences and his play The Devil’s Own People from 1976
denounces Ireland's neutrality in the face of fascism and the
Holocaust.
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