Francis MacManus the focus of South Kilkenny Historical Society’s latest lecture

Francis MacManus (1909-1965) was the topic of the latest South Kilkenny Historical Society lecture – ‘Francis MacManus: County Kilkenny’s Greatest Novelist’, by Dr Willie Nolan.

The Emeritus Professor of Geography at UCD began by outlining that most of his research for the lecture, which he dedicated to the late Seamus Moylan, was based on ‘In the Mind’s Eye – Francis MacManus and Kilkenny’, in Kilkenny: Studies in Honour of Margaret M Phelan.

Francis MacManus was born in Michael Street, Kilkenny in 1909, to Bernard and Julianne (née Murphy) MacManus, the eldest of five children. He had one sister, Mary, and three brothers, Matthew, Peter and Brian.
His father, who died in 1918, was originally from County Cavan and ran a commercial travelling business. His mother, who died in 1930, was from Bodal, Gowran, Kilkenny. His education began at St John’s School, Kilkenny, De La Salle Brothers and the local Christian Brothers.

He won a science scholarship to UCD but opted to train as a teacher, attending St Patrick’s College and UCC. In 1929 he began teaching at the Synge Street CBS before joining the staff of RTÉ in 1948, as Director of Features. He remained in RTÉ until his death, in 1965.

In total, Francis MacManus wrote 15 books. He began writing while still teaching, with his first trilogy consisting of novels Stand and Give Challenge, Candle for the Proud and Men Withering.
Men Withering received the Harmsworth Award for best Irish novel of the year. For his second trilogy, MacManus turned his attention to contemporary Ireland, with This House Was Mine, Flow On, Lovely River and Watergate.

The second trilogy explored the impact of history on the ordinary lives of Irish people, including the greed for land.
Flow On, Lovely River tells the story of a schoolteacher’s love for the daughter of a drunkard, while in Watergate a daughter returns from America to her family farm, finding it falling into decay.

His most popular novel, The Greatest of These, was reprinted four times and was on the Leaving Certificate English syllabus.
The Thomas Davis series of lectures was, in the opinion of Willie Nolan, one of his greatest achievements. In 1953, when he became Director of Features at RTE, he inaugurated the ‘Thomas Davis Lecture’ series – ‘a university of the air’.
He died on November 27, 1965 aged 56, and is buried in Deansgrange Cemetery, Dublin. The Francis MacManus Short Story Prize was established in his memory by RTE Radio in 1985 and his papers were donated to the National Library of Ireland, in April 2010, by his son Patrick.

This collection comprises of manuscripts and drafts of his work, diaries, notebooks and correspondence. This includes letters from Sean O’Casey, Sean Ó Faolain and CP Snow.
During the lecture, Dr Nolan referred to the late Francis MacManus as a man who could relate to people and the chairman of the society, in his thanks, spoke of the speakers ability to relate to the audience and deliver a wonderful tribute to Francis MacManus. He also thanked Kilkenny County Council for financial assistance provided for its lecture programme.

NEXT EVENT
The next South Kilkenny Historical Society lecture takes place on Friday, November 29 at 8pm in Mullinavat Hall. This lecture, ‘Freighting the River Blackwater’ will be delivered by Andrew Doherty.

On Friday, December 6 a Night of Reminiscing with Seamus McGrath takes place in the Rhu Glenn.
Food will be served at 7pm, with the Night of Reminiscing beginning at 8pm. The cost, including food, is €25 per person. The society events for 2024 conclude on St Stephen’s Day with Lá an Dreoilín, in Mullinavat.
Membership of the society, which is open to all, costs €20.