Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- c. 1939-2003 (predominantly 1980-2000) (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
22 standard boxes and 1 outsize box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gerard P. Gallivan was born in Limerick in 1920 and grew up on Henry Street. A contemporary of Frank McCourt, Gallivan’s recollections of his home city differed considerably from those described in Angela’s Ashes, although the two men lived in very similar spheres. Gallivan was educated at Crescent College and graduated in 1939. He began his working career in England, where he emigrated in 1940. Here he also met his wife, whom he married in 1945. A year later, they returned to Ireland and settled in Limerick, where Gallivan established a career in the airline industry. In 1952, he was transferred to Dublin, where he was to live for the rest of his life.
Gallivan’s writing career commenced at the age of 18, when he wrote his first novel, The Hawk, but failed to get it published. He later found his feet as a playwright and over his long career wrote more than 40 plays, many of which were produced at the Gate Theatre, Abbey Theatre, Elbana Theatre and Olympia Theatre in Dublin, and the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. He also did a lot of journeyman work, contributing several episodes to the popular radio series Harbour Hotel and The Kennedys of Castleross, and for the television drama Kilmore House. Many of his stage scripts, such as Parnell, The Final Mission and The Lamb and the Fox, were also produced as radio plays.
Gerard Gallivan's works focus predominantly on Irish political history (particularly the foundation of the Irish State) and major Irish and English political and social figures such as Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Maude Gonne, W. B. Yeats, Noel Chamberlain, Eamonn De Valera, Michael Collins and Cardinal Newman. His published plays include Decision at Easter (1960); And a Yellow Singing Bird (1963); Mourn the Ivy Leaf (1965); Dev (1978); Watershed (1981), Lovesong (1984), and three volumes of Selected Plays (1999-2008). Among his best-known stage plays is The Stepping Stone, which was originally performed in 1963 and enjoyed a popular revival in Cork in 1997. Gallivan continued to write until the last months of his life. His later works included The Indomitable Lamb (1997), The Prudent Paramour (1997) and The Rusted Dagger (1998), all of which were broadcast as radio plays. His other late works included a family history The Gallivans of Limerick (1995), and a commissioned account of his working life, My Times in Irish Travel, published posthumously in 2004 as Ireland Enters the Air Age. He died on Christmas Day 2003.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
This collection was consolidated from two sources transferred to the University of Limerick on the initiative of Dr Barry Houlihan, archivist at NUI Galway. Papers in the possession of Gerard Gallivan's literary agent, Yvonne McMorrough in Canada were donated to the University of Limerick 14 November 2008 and received on 8 May 2009. Papers in the possession of Brian Gallivan in Dublin were donated in May 2009, boxed up by Barry Houlihan 2 June 2010, and received by the University on 12 July 2010.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This collection documents Gerard Gallivan’s career as a playwright, comprising manuscript and typescript drafts of his plays and other works; correspondence with theatre producers, actors, publishers and writers’ societies; posters and programmes relating to his plays; diaries; photographs; and press cuttings.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Duplicates and some ephemera unrelated to Gerard Gallivan's literary activities have been destroyed. A small number of items of personal or business nature relating to Gallivan’s personal life have been returned to the family.
Accruals
Further accruals are possible.
System of arrangement
Material has been arranged thematically into five series. Series A comprises literary material, including manuscripts, typescripts, published works, and works in other formats. Series B comprises correspondence. Series C comprises posters and programmes. Series D comprises other items of interest relating to Gallivan, including curriculum vitae, diaries, press cuttings, photographs and drawings, and ephemera relating to drama and theatre, family history and rugby. Series E comprises material relating to Yvonne McMorrough, including correspondence and items relevant to the acquisition history of the collection. Within these sub-series, files have been arranged alphabetically by title or chronologically by date.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted access to most items. Some items contain personal information relating to people living or presumed living and are closed until 2040 to protect individual privacy. These files have been identified in the descriptive catalogue.
Conditions governing reproduction
Standard copyright regulations apply to all items. The Gallivan Estate has retained all proprietary rights and copyright in the published and unpublished writings of Gerard Gallivan. Those materials may not be duplicated or reproduced without written permission from the Gallivan Estate. Reproduction of closed files and any items dated after 1980 containing personal information is also prohibited. For photocopying or reproducing other material, please consult with the staff.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Mostly paper documents in good condition. A small number of items are in other formats. To access the information they contain, the following software/ hardware is required: PC with 3½ inch disk drive and Apple operating system (P30/370-375); PC with 3½ inch disk drive and MS DOS operating system (P30/376); PC with 3½ inch disk drive and Windows operating system (P30/377); cassette player (P30/378); and VCR player (P30/379).
Finding aids
PDF of the finding aid is available at https://www.ul.ie/media/28537/download?inline.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Fifty-five volumes of manuscript, typescript and printed scripts were donated by Gerard Gallivan to the National Library of Ireland in September 1991. They can be consulted in the NLI Manuscripts Reading Room (Call Number Ms 35,286/1-55). A list of these volumes can be accessed online at http://catalogue.nli.ie/Author/Home?author=Gallivan%2C+G.+P.%2C+1920-. For donations to other repositories, please refer to P30/660-P30/661.
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
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)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Papers arranged and described by Anna-Maria Hajba in October 2010.