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Collection Overview
Title: Brian O'Nolan papers, 1914-1966
ID: 1/4/MSS 051
Primary Creator: O'Brien, Flann, (1911-1966.)
Extent: 2.0 Boxes
Arrangement: Arranged in two series: correspondence and manuscripts. Correspondence has three sub-series: letters to, letters about, and letters by Brian O'Nolan.
Date Acquired: 00/00/1966
Forms of Material: Authors, Irish - 20th century - Correspondence, Authors, Irish - 20th century - Manuscripts, Joyce, James, 1882-1941. - Manuscripts, O'Brien, Flann, 1911-1966. - Correspondence, O'Brien, Flann, 1911-1966. - Manuscripts
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The O'Nolan papers consist primarily of O'Nolan's outgoing and incoming correspondence between 1938 and 1966, as well as typescripts of all O'Nolan novels except "At-Swim-Two-Birds." The manuscript materials also include typescripts of the unfinished novel "Slattery's Sago Saga" and several short stories, among them "Ireland Home and Beauty." The collection also includes numerous reviews and news columns under O'Nolan's various pen names, including "A Weekly Look Round," "The Column Bawn," and "Cruiskeen Lawn"; manuscript articles, among them "Irish Whiskey Rebellion," "To the Irishman on the Street," "The Insect Play," and "Robinson's Cruise-O!"; and manuscript "sketches" and essays under the O'Nolan pseudonyms Flann O'Brien, George Knowall, and Myles na Gopaleen.
The collection also features manuscript stage plays, including "The Boy from Ballytearim", "Faustus Kelly", and "Thirst"; and manuscript teleplays, including "Boots and Saddle," "Hullaballoons at Christmas," "The Ideas of O'Dea," "Is TV a Good Thing?," "Playing the Game," "Present Problems," and "Wedding Bells." There are also a large assortment of newspaper and magazine reviews of O'Nolan's plays and novels; book jackets, notebooks, and photographs of O'Nolan; and a number of related books and magazines, including the 1943 Dublin edition of "Faustus Kelly", the German editions of "At-Swim-Two-Birds" and "The Hard Life", and Hugh Leonard's 1965 stage adaptation of The Dalkey Archive, entitled "When the Saints Go Cycling In."
Biographical Note
Brian O'Nolan, born 5 October 1911, began his literary career as a newspaper columnist writing under various pseudonyms: George Knowall, John Doe, Myles na Gopaleen, and Flann O'Brien. His later works include sketches, TV scripts, and novels; the best-known of which is At Swim-Two-Birds. One novel, The Dalkey Archive, was rewritten as a play, The Saints Go Cycling In, by Hugh Leonard. O'Nolan's flair for comedy in all his works was admired by such prominent authors as James Joyce, Graham Greene, Dylan Thomas, Brendan Behan, and S.J. Perelman. Brian O'Nolan died in Dublin on 1 April 1966.
Administrative Information
Repository:
Southern Illinois University Special Collections Research Center
Access Restrictions:
Unrestricted access.
Use Restrictions:
To quote in print, or otherwise reproduce in whole or in part in any publication, including on the World Wide Web, any material from this collection, the researcher must obtain permission from (1) the owner of the physical property and (2) the holder of the copyright. Persons wishing to quote from this collection should consult Special Collections Research Center to determine copyright holders for information in this collection. Reproduction of any item must contain the complete citation to the original.
As of 2017, Daniel C. Maher has represented the estate for many years. The estate is also represented by A. M. Heath in the UK and Brandt & Hochman in the US.
Acquisition Source:
Purchased
Related Materials:
Flann O'Brien [pseudonym of Brian O'Nolan] Manuscripts and criticism, 1934-1989, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin; Flann O'Brien collection, Archives and Manuscripts, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Preferred Citation:
[after identification of item(s)], Brian O'Nolan papers, Special Collections Research Center, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Other Note:
For a itemized list of correspondence and manuscripts, please contact the repository. The list is available in the reading room file cabinet.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[Series 2: Manuscripts],
[
All]
- Series 2: Manuscripts

- Box 1

- Folder 20: Manuscripts, New Columns - "A Weekly Look Round"

- Folder 21: Manuscript Play - "The Boy from Ballytearim"

- Folder 22: Manuscript News Columns - "The Column Bawn"

- Folder 23: Manuscript News Columns - "Cruiskeen Lawn"

- Folder 24: Manuscript Plays - "Fauntus Kelly" and "Thirst"

- Folder 25: Manuscript Sketches - by Myles na Gopaleen

- Folder 26: Manuscript Sketches - by George Knowall

- Folder 27: Manuscript Short Story - "Ireland Home and Beauty" by Flann O'Brien

- Folder 28: Flann O'Brien Essays

- Folder 29: Articles - "Irish Whiskey Rebellion" - "To the Irishman on the Street" "The Insect Play"

- Folder 30: Manuscript Sketches - "Th' Oul Lad of Kilsalaher"

- Folder 31: Articles - "Robinson's Cruise-O!" - O'Reagan's "If I Were King"

- Folder 32: TV Plays - "Boots and Saddle" - Hullaballoons at Christmas"

- Folder 33: TV Plays - "The Ideas of O'Dea"

- Folder 34: TV Plays - "Is TV a Good Thing?" - "Playing the Game"

- Folder 35: TV Plays - "Present Problems" - "Wedding Bells"

- Folder 36: Book Reviews - Holograph of "Sago Saga"

- Folder 37: Gaelic Typescript - Miscellaneous Holograph Material

- Folder 38: Miscellaneous Typescript Material - "Sergeant Fortell"

- Folder 39: Manuscript Novel - The Dalkey Archive

- Folder 40: Manuscript Novel - The Dalkey Archive

- Box 2

- Folder 1: Manuscript Play - The Saints Go Cycling In by Hugh Leonard

- Folder 2: Manuscript Novel - The Hard Life (1 of 4)

- Folder 3: Manuscript Novel - The Hard Life (2 of 4)

- Folder 4: Manuscript Novel - The Hard Life (3 of 4)

- Folder 5: Manuscript Novel -The Hard Life (4 of 4)

- Folder 6: Manuscript Novel - The Third Policeman (1 of 2)

- Folder 7: Manuscript Novel - The Third Policeman (2 of 2)

- Folder 8: Notebooks - Holograph Notes (1 of 2)

- Folder 9: Notebooks - Holograph Notes (2 of 2)

- Folder 10: Notebooks - Sketches

- Folder 11: Notebook, Article on Joyce

- Folder 12: Miscellaneous Material, Including Scenes from The Hard Life

- Folder 13: Newsclippings, 1814-1951

- Folder 14: Newsclippings, 1952-1959

- Folder 15: Newsclippings, 1960-1961

- Folder 16: Newsclippings, 1962 January-May

- Folder 17: Newsclippings, 1962 May-December

- Folder 18: Newsclippings, 1963 January-March

- Folder 19: Newsclippings, 1964 February-1965 June

- Folder 20: Newsclippings, 1965 June-September

- Folder 21: Newsclippings, 1965 October-December

- Folder 22: Newsclippings, 1966, undated

- Folder 23: Information booklets - Pantheon books, The Irish Press, 1963, March-Fall

- Folder 24: Photographs

- Folder 25: The Lace Curtain: A Magazine of Poetry and Criticism

- Dublin: New Writers' Press, (Summer 1971, Spring 1974). Numbers 4, 5. Edited by Michael Smith. Number 4 contains poems by Myles na gCopaleen and others
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[Series 2: Manuscripts],
[
All]