Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1908-2003 (predominantly 1945-1975) (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
23 standard boxes and 1 outsize box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Lorna Teresa Reynolds was born on 17 January 1911 in Jamaica as the eldest of five children of Michael Reynolds and Teresa Anne née Hickey. When her father died in 1921, she and her family returned to Ireland. Having spent three years in Birr, county Offaly, the family moved to Dublin, where Lorna completed her secondary education at the Dominican College on Eccles Street. She continued her education at University College Dublin, where she studied English, obtaining a BA in 1933, an MA in 1935 and a doctorate in 1940. Her doctoral dissertation dealt with the Bible. During her college years, she made lasting friendships with Mary Lavin, Cyril Cusack and Brian O’Nolan, better known as Flann O’Brien.
Shortly after graduating, Reynolds joined the teaching staff at UCD, where her striking presence, intense love of English literature and ability to listen made her highly popular among students. Her relationships with the college authorities was less successful, particularly so in the case of the then president, Michael Tierney, to whom she refers in her letters as ‘the snake in the grass’. In 1966, Reynolds was appointed Professor of Modern English at University College Galway. Here, she revitalised the department and organised a number of high-profile conferences, most notably the J. M. Synge centenary conference in 1971. She served as editor of the University Review (now Irish University of Review) in the 1950s. She also co-edited two books with Robert O’Driscoll, Yeats and the Theatre (1975) and The Untold Story: The Irish in Canada (1988).
In addition to being a distinguished academic, Reynolds was an accomplished poet and translator of Italian poetry, sometimes in collaboration with Gioia Gaidoni (1915-1993). Her poems and short stories were published in the Dublin Magazine in the 1940s and later in The Bell, Poetry Ireland, Arena, The Lace Curtain and Botteghe Oscure. She was a familiar figure at various international writers’ conferences and socialised with many of the leading European writers of the day.
One of defining aspects of Reynolds’ life was her strong belief in women’s rights and the importance of their contribution to Irish society. She was a leading member of the Women’s Social and Progressive League in the 1940s and actively involved in the UCD Women Graduates’ Association. She was also a popular after-dinner speaker at various women’s groups.
In 1978, Reynolds returned to Dublin to live in the old family home on Merrion Square. She derived great pleasure from entertaining friends and was an excellent cook, a skill which culminated in the publication of a cook book, Tasty Food for Hasty Folk, in 1990.
Lorna Reynolds died on 4 July 2003 aged 91.
Archival history
Unknown.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Purchased for the University of Limerick at Sheppard’s Auction on 8 March 2017.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This collection offers insights into Lorna Reynold’s academic career, her work as a poet and translator of poetry and her personal life. Material relating to her academic career is perfunctory, consisting in the main of academic certificates, correspondence of mainly administrative nature and extensive research notes primarily on English literature for teaching, talks and academic papers. Material relating to her literary career includes manuscript and typescript drafts of her poems and short stories, many of which were published in newspapers and other publications, typescript drafts of a play, Swear Not by the Moon, and book reviews.
Undoubtedly the most interesting part of this collection is to be found among the records of Lorna Reynolds’ personal life, which incorporate some 800 items of correspondence with her lover Kate O’Brien. Uniquely, both sides of this correspondence survive from November 1946 to July 1949, after which only Kate O’Brien’s side remains. The letters reveal the intense nature of the relationship between two highly creative, strong-minded and extremely intelligent women and the many clashes and fallings-out their respective personalities inevitably generated. While Kate seemed to thrive on and be invigorated by this intensity, for Lorna, weighted down by her academic duties and a difficult domestic situation, it proved too much and her feelings for Kate receded, but their friendship continued until Kate’s death. Another interesting series of letters are those from Darina Silone née Laracy to Lorna Reynolds, which reveal on the one hand Darina’s marital unhappiness and its consequences, and on the other her devotion to her husband Ignazio Silone and her determination to preserve his legacy.
The Lorna Reynolds collection reveals the remarkable personality, strength of character and outspokenness of its creator, and her unyielding insistence on the rights of women to enjoy the same personal freedom and independence as men. On a broader scale, the collection builds an exceptional picture of the Irish academic, cultural and artistic circles in the twentieth century, circles in which Lorna Reynolds moved and played a seminal role.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All records have been retained except for duplicates which have been destroyed.
Accruals
No accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
The collection has been arranged into five series, the first three of which reflect the different aspects of Lorna Reynolds’ life. Series 1 relates to her academic career and contains documents relating to her education and her administrative and teaching duties in her various academic positions. Series 2 relates to her literary career as a poet and writer and contains drafts of her poems, short stories and plays together with book reviews she contributed to newspapers and other publications. Series 3 relates to her personal life and contains her personal correspondence, her diaries and material relating to her hobbies and interests. Series 4 contains publications and other printed matter accumulated by Lorna Reynolds, including books gifted to her by Kate O’Brien and programmes of her plays. Series 5 contain photographs, mostly featuring Kate O’Brien and used as illustrations in Lorna Reynolds’ book, Kate O’Brien: A Literary Portrait (1987).
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 closed to protect individual privacy. These items have been identified in the descriptive catalogue. Requests for access to Kate O’Brien’s letters are considered on a case by case basis due to copyright and GDPR issues.
Conditions governing reproduction
Standard copyright regulations apply to all items. Please note that the University of Limerick does not hold copyright of the material included in this collection. For photocopying or reproducing material, please consult with the staff.
Language of material
- Béarla
- Fraincis
- Gearmáinis
- Gréigis
- Gaeilge
- Iodáilis
- Laidin
- Spáinnis
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Paper documents in reasonable or fragile condition. A small number of items are too fragile to be safely handled. These items have been identified in the descriptive catalogue.
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
For additional material relating to Kate O’Brien, including her literary works and dealings with her agents and publishers, please refer to the Kate O’Brien Papers (P12). Kate O’Brien’s correspondence with her sisters and nephew can be found in the O’Mara Papers (P40). Manuscripts of Kate O’Brien’s published works are held at the McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois in the United States. A guide to this collection is available at https://www.library.northwestern.edu/documents/libraries-collections/special-collections/obrien.pdf . The National Library of Ireland holds drafts of some of Kate O’Brien’s plays and short stories, with some related correspondence (http://catalogue.nli.ie/Collection/vtls000793596).
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
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Subject access points
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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
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Archivist's note
Papers arranged and described by Anna-Maria Hajba in April 2025.