Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1975-2000 (predominantly 1985-1993) (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
5 standard boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Seán Lysaght was born in 1957 and grew up in Limerick. He was educated at UCD, where he received a BA and an MA in Anglo-Irish Literature. He spent several years in Switzerland and Germany before returning to Ireland to teach and pursue further studies at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. In 1996, he received a PhD for his biographical study of Irish natural historian Robert Lloyd Praeger, which was published two years later by the Four Courts Press as Robert Lloyd Praeger: The Life of a Naturalist. He now lives in Westport and lectures at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
Lysaght’s early ventures into poetry won acknowledgment in 1975 at the North Cork Writers’ Festival in Doneraile, where he received first prize in the under 18 category with his poems 'The Geese', 'Sacrilege' and 'They Cast off Youth'. He also won an award at the annual Patrick Kavanagh poetry festival in 1985. Lysaght’s first collection of poems, Noah’s Irish Ark, was published in 1989 by the Dedalus Press. His second collection, The Clare Island Survey (Gallery, 1991) was nominated for The Irish Times/ Aer Lingus poetry award. In 2007, Lysaght received the prestigious O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry. His work draws heavily on the natural world, combined with allusions to literature and legend. According to Lysaght, ‘poetry should be a negotiation between what we know to be our limits and the revelation of something we didn’t even realise was there in the first place.’
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated to the University of Limerick by Seán Lysaght on 15 April 2004.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This collection contains some of Seán Lysaght's published works (including essays, poetry and book reviews) and correspondence with publishing companies, journals and newspapers illustrating his early development and maturing as a poet.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All records have been retained.
Accruals
No accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
The material has been divided by type into three series. Series 1 comprises letters, mainly from the editors of literary journals and publishing companies relating to the publication of individual poems, essays and book reviews, and correspondence relating to other works, including Lysaght’s unsuccessful attempts to find a publisher for a novel. Some private correspondence with poets and academics is also included in this section. Series 2 comprises mainly press cuttings of articles, book reviews and poems written by Lysaght and published in various Irish newspapers. Series 3 contains mainly journals incorporating Lysaght’s poems, essays and book reviews.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted access to most items. One file contains personal information relating to persons living or presumed living and is closed to protect individual privacy.
Conditions governing reproduction
Standard copyright regulations apply to all items. For photocopying or reproducing material, please consult with the staff.
Language of material
- English
- French
- German
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Paper documents in good condition.
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Published works by Seán Lysaght other than those forming part of this collection are available in the Special Collections and Archives Department and the Main Library at the University of Limerick.
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
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Description control area
Description identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
This description follows guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd edition (2000), Irish Guidelines for Archival Description (2009), National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names (1997) and EAP Guidance on Data Protection for Archive Services (2018).
Status
Level of detail
Language(s)
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Sources
Archivist's note
Papers arranged and described by Anna-Maria Hajba in December 2008 and revised in July 2021.