A Roundabout way to Immortality

 

The other week I was in Ireland, in the county of Longford the county of my late father and where in the town of Granard, I not only spent my teenage years and finished my formal schooling, but under the auspices of the Sisters of Mercy (see June 02^nd blog posting) I gained an interest in matters literary.   

 Here I must confess that I had not been in that part of Ireland in over twenty years, so naturally was not prepared for many of the changes that had inevitably taken place during the intervening years. The roads have certainly improved, with by-passes and motorways now a common feature across the land removing the need for long queues of traffic choking up the towns one had to previously pass through to get to their eventual destination. During a couple of trips to the town of Edgeworthstown and Longford town itself, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had named a number of roundabouts after famous Longford literary figures. In their day they were as well-known as any writer but today, they hardly rate a mention among the reading public Christian or otherwise and their works can usually only be obtained by going online – unless you know an independent bookdealer who you can go to direct.  

 So I did a little bit of delving into the history and came across this article in the Longford Leader newspaper from June 2011 which gives a brief overview of how these literary figures of yesteryear came to be immortalised on roundabouts. (Apologies in advance for the adverts). Sadly I was unable to stop and grab an actual picture so stock ones it is I’m afraid.

 Of the five writers mentioned three stand out for me because I have been fortunate enough to have read some of their works. Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849), was a prolific novelist who was unafraid to venture into those areas of politics and society in her writing which in some sections, were considered improper for a woman in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries. Castle Rackrent her first novel, pointed the finger at the often wasteful behaviour of the landed gentry in mis-managing their estates and in the treatment of their tenants, something which proved to have the cruellest of consequences during the Potato Famine of 1845-1847.

Ironically the former Manor House which was the Edgeworth family home was later taken over by the Sisters of Mercy and extended to become a nursing home –now privately owned and operated – and where my uncle, who was the chief reason for going to Ireland to visit him after a recent illness, is now a resident.

 Time and space prevents me from going further into the life and works of someone who could be considered the Hilary Mantel or JK Rowling of her day, but this link from The Irish Times might be of interest.

 Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) was another of the Anglo-Irish contingent of writers who achieved success in England and beyond. The son of an Anglican curate, his best known work was the novel the Vicar of Wakefield but it is his pastoral poem The Deserted Village which we studied at school. Despite his religious upbringing he was not averse to satirising the London society of his day poking fun at the practices of the established church as much as the political establishment, “You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips” being one his more famous quotes. Here is another Irish Times link if you want to know more about someone who was a key figure who used his writings to help establish Ireland’s place in the Enlightenment period.

 The last of the trio is Padraic Colum (1881-1972) who I feel a particular affinity with because his birthplace of Bunlahy in the parish of Columcille a few miles from Granard is also where my late father was born in 1935. Colum’s poem The Drover, was one of my favourites at school and remains one of his best known works and was included in Seamus Heaney’s and Ted Hughes’ collection of favourite poetry, The Rattle Bag, published in 1982. There is more on him in the Longford Leader article above.

 Being immortalised on a roundabout is nothing new especially for a writer, I’m sure other ACW members can name their own examples. But having been away from a place I can still legitimately call home for so long, it is somewhat comforting to know that interest in literary geniuses can still be found many years after their deaths and who are just waiting in a "Roundabout Way" to be discovered again.

 

 

 

Michael Cronogue originally from London now resides in Walsall in West Midlands region of UK. Writer and blogger discussing matters of faith and theology at www.michaelcronogue.com . A Methodist Worship Leader he is also a Blue Light Chaplain to his local Police and Fire Stations. An association he hopes will yield fruitful ideas for future stories and articles – after some careful editing of course!!