Benedict Kiely

Benedict "Ben" Kiely (born August 15 1919 – died February 9 2007) was an Irish author and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland.

Early life

Benedict Kiely was born in Dromore, County Tyrone to Thomas Joseph Kiely and Sara Alice Gormley. He was the youngest of six children, Rita, Gerald, Eileen, Kathleen and Macartan; fourof whom predeceased him. His sister Kathleen (six years his senior) is the only one to survive him.

Kiely's father, Tom, a native of Moville, County Donegal, was a Boer War veteran. When he was only eighteen, he joined the Leinster Regiment. Over the next five or so years, he travelled over Ireland and abroad, including the Caribbean, and finally, to South Africa. He was decorated for heroism, for his actions in the Boer War (during which time he had met with General Christiaan De Wet). Sometime after having retured to Ireland, Tom took up employment with the Ordnance Survey as a survey measurer (or "chain man" - so called because a chain was used to do the measuring).

Three years later, Tom happened to be in Doyle's Hotel in Drumquin, and that was where he met a young barmaid by the name of Sara Alice Gormley, who came from the townland of Claraghmore, near Drumquin. An interesting thing about the townland Claramore was that there were so many families with the surname Gormley that each one used their own nickname to distinguish one from the other.

In the spring of 1920, Tom and Sara Alice Kiely, and their six children, moved from James Campell's farm in Dromore to Omagh, where Tom took up the position as the porter in the newly-opened Munster and Leinster Bank. After living for a short time in Castle Street and Drumragh, the family finally settled in St. Patrick's Terrace in the Gallows Hill area of Omagh. This area was to have a lasting inspiration for Ben.

Teenage years

Whilst he was a teenager, Ben began to feel the urge to become a writer. He had a keen interest in the work of George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells and Jonathan Swift. In 1936, after completing his education at Mount St. Columba Christian Brothers School in Omagh, Ben went to work as a sorting clerk in Omagh Post Office, where his brother-inlaw Frank McCrory was working. Frank was the husband of Ben's sister Eileen.

However, he soon realised that the post office would not provide him with the life of the scholar which he had so desired. So, in the Spring of 1937, he left Omagh and began a new life in Emo Park, Portarlington, Co. Laois, where he decided he would train as a Jesuit priest.

Life in Counties Laois & Dublin

His life as a Jesuit was not meant to be for, exactly a year later, in the spring of 1938, Ben suffered a serious spinal injury, which resulted in a lengthy stay in Cappagh Hospital in Finglas, Dublin. During his hospitalisation, Ben was given plenty of time to think about the course his life had already taken, and about a course it might take. He also realised that he was never a true religious follower and abandoned his training as a Jesuit priest. Fact|date=July 2008

Part-time journalist

When he got out of hospital in 1939, Kiely returned to Omagh to recover from his back problem. It was here where he waited for the beginning of term at University College in Dublin. The following year, he began working as a part-time journalist in "The Weekly Standard" newspaper (which was then edited by Peter Curry).

In 1943, Benedict Kiely graduated from National University with B.A. history and letters.

First Marriage

On July 5 1944, Ben married Maureen O'Connell. This marriage produced four children:
*Mary Patricia Kiely (1945–1945)
*Anne Kiely (born: 1946)
*John Kiely (born: 1948)
*Emer Kiely (born: 1949)

Career

In 1945, Ben began working for the "Irish Independent", where he was employed as a journalist and critic. In 1950, now a father of four, he joined the "Irish Press" as a literary editor.

In 1964, Ben moved to America, where he was a Writer-in-Residence at Emory University, visiting professor at University of Oregon, and Writer-in-Residence at Hollins College (Virginia). He spent four years in those three different places. In 1968, he returned to Ireland after having spent four years in America.

He continued to receive acclaim for his writing and journalism (a career which spans over six decades) receiving the Award for Literature from the Irish Academy of Letters. By now, he was one of Ireland's best known writers. In 1996, he was named Saoi of Aosdána, the highest honour given by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Later years

On August 15 1999, Ben visited Omagh to celebrate his 80th birthday, which was marked by the unveiling of a plaque outside his childhood home in the Gallows Hill area. In an interview at that time, when asked about censorship, Ben remarked with a typical quip: "If you weren't banned, it meant you were no bloody good"."

In October of every year in Omagh, an event called "The Benedict Kiely Literary Weekend"' is held to celebrate the author's many achievements.

Around 2005, Ben married Frances Daly.

Death

According to RTE News, Ben died in St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin on February 9 2007 [http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0209/kielyd.html] , aged 87. The twice-married author and father of four (who had been living out of Omagh for 69 years) was survived by his second wife Frances, his daughters Anne Kiely and Emer Cronin, son John Kiely, and a large extended family. He was predeceased by his first wife and a daughter, Mary.

Works

hort stories

*"The Collected Stories of Benedict Kiely" (2001)
*"The Trout in the Turnhole" (1996)
*"A Letter to Peachtree" (1987)
*"The State of Ireland: A Novella and Seven Short Stories" (1981)
*"A Cow in the House" (1978)
*"A Ball of Malt and Madame Butterfly" (1973)
*"A Journey to the Seven Streams" (1963)

Novels

*"Benedict Kiely, A Raid into Dark Corners and Other Essays" (1999)
*"Nothing Happens in Carmincross" (1985)
*"All the Way to Bantry Bay and Other Irish Journeys" (1978)
*"Proxopera: A Tale of Modern Ireland" (1977)
*"Dogs Enjoy the Morning" (1968)
*"The Captain with the Whiskers" (1960)
*"There Was an Ancient House" (1955)
*"The Cards of the Gambler" (1953)
*"Honey Seems Bitter" (1952)
*"Modern Irish Fiction: A Critique" (1950)
*"In a Harbour Green" (1949)
*"Call for a Miracle" (1948)
*"Poor Scholar" (1947)
*"Land Without Stars" (1946)
*"Countries of Contention" (1945)

Autobiography

*"Drink to the Bird: An Omagh Boyhood" (1992)
*"The Waves Behind Us: A Memoir" (1999)

TV appearances

*"Wordweaver - The Legend of Benedict Kiely" (2005) ...Himself
*"Irish Angle - Hands: Curraghs" (1985) ...Narrator
*"Irish Angle - Hands: Fermanagh County" (1981) ...Script Writer
*"Humours of Donnybrook" (1979) ...Himself
*"Jungle of Pembroke Road" (1974) ...Himself

Radio Broadcasts

*"Sunday Miscellany" ...Himself

Trivia

*The person who may have inspired Benedict Kiely to write novels and short stories was his father, Tom Kiely, who used to tell stories about people, places and events from his younger days.
*A well-known brother-in-law was Frank McCrory who worked for many years as a playwright/ songwriter of pantomimes at Omagh Town Hall. Frank's wife Eileen was Benedict Kiely's sister.
*Drumquin is often mentioned in his novels and stories because that's where he has maternal family connections. His mother, Sarah Alice Kiely (née Gormley) was from Claramore, a townland near Drumquin.
*Was a distant relation (through his mother) to the Gormley family who owned Gormley's pub in Castle Street in Omagh.
*Uncle of Omagh-born musician Brian Coll.
*Great-uncle of writer Sharon Owens.