Highlights from the John J. Burns Library's Irish collections
Did you know that Burns Library houses the papers, artifacts and library of Irish novelist and humorist Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan)? Artifacts include O’Brien’s fiddle, his typewriter, his hat, his leaving certificates and his passports.
» Flann O'Brien collection description in Quest
At left: O'Brien's fedora, violin (seldom played), passport, diary, hand lens, fountain pen, and Underwood typewriter.
Did you know that the John J. Burns Library houses the second largest collection of original manuscripts by Irish Nobel Laureate William B. Yeats? Only the National Library of Ireland boasts a larger collection.
» Yeats manuscript collection descriptions in Quest (includes links to finding aids)
Yeats, W. B. - Family Correspondence
Yeats, W. B. - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Yeats, W. B. - Notebooks & Manuscripts
Yeats, W. B. - Margot Ruddock
Yeats, W. B. - Marion Doyle
» Highlight of the Cuala Press collection currently on exhibit at Burns (links to collection description)
At left: photograph from Cuala Press material
Did you know that Burns Library houses the largest archives of papers of the world-famous Irish tenor John McCormack (1884-1945), including both his sheet music collection and the little black book of lyrics that he carried on stage?
» John McCormack collection listings from the Irish Music Center (includes links to Quest records)
» Exhibit highlight of John McCormack
At left: John McCormack in operatic costume (Faust), early 1900s
Did you know that the John J. Burns Library holds the official archive of Irish revolutionaries Thomas and Kathleen Clarke? Thomas Clarke was the first signer of the Irish Proclamation of 1916 and executed at Kilmainham Jail in Dublin for his role in the Easter Rising. Kathleen Clarke was the first woman Lord Mayor of Dublin.
» Thomas and Kathleen Clarke collection record in Quest
» Exhibit highlight from Burns Library
At left: print of Thomas Clarke
Did you know that Burns Library houses one of the largest collections of the papers of Nobel Laureate Samuel Beckett, including the original manuscript Suite, which documents definitively when Beckett switched from writing his creative works originally in English to writing in French?
» Samuel Beckett collection descriptions in Quest (includes links to finding aids)
Beckett, Samuel - Calvin Israel
Beckett, Samuel - Robert Pinget
Beckett, Samuel - Barney Rosset
Beckett, Samuel - Alan Schneider
» Exhibit highlight celebrating the centennial of Becketts' birth
At left: Samuel Beckett's "En attendant Godot"