Michael MacLaverty
Encyclopedia
Michael McLaverty was an Irish writer
of novels and short stories.
and then moved as a child to the Beechmount area of Belfast
He attended St Gall's School and then went to College and became a school teacher. Michael McLaverty worked as a teacher, firstly at St. John's Primary School Colinward Street for many years. On marrying he moved to Deramore Drive in the Malone area of Belfast. Joe Graham
in his book, Belfast Born Bred And Buttered speaks fondly of having been taught by Mr McLaverty both at St John's and St Thomas's schools. For a short period he lived on Rathlin Island
, off the County Antrim
coast, where he gained much of the inspiration for his short stories. In the 1950s-60s he was the principal of St. Thomas' Secondary School on the Whiterock Road in the upper Falls Road area of West Belfast
. During his tenure there Seamus Heaney
was one of his staff. Heaney recalls McLaverty's enthusiasm for teaching but also for literature. He introduced Heaney to the work of Patrick Kavanagh
. Hillal suggests that McLaverty was like a foster father to the younger Belfast poet.
Heaney summarised McLaverty's contribution: "His voice was modestly pitched, he never sought the limelight, yet for all that, his place in our literature is secure." In the introduction to McLaverty's Collected Works, Heaney describes the writing: "His tact and pacing, in the individual sentence and the overall story, are beautiful: in his best work, the elegiac is bodied forth in perfectly pondered images and rhythms". Heaney's poem Fosterage, in the sequence Singing School from North (1975) is dedicated to him.
Irish literature
For a comparatively small island, Ireland has made a disproportionately large contribution to world literature. Irish literature encompasses the Irish and English languages.-The beginning of writing in Irish:...
of novels and short stories.
Background
Michael McLaverty was born in County MonaghanCounty Monaghan
County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
and then moved as a child to the Beechmount area of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
He attended St Gall's School and then went to College and became a school teacher. Michael McLaverty worked as a teacher, firstly at St. John's Primary School Colinward Street for many years. On marrying he moved to Deramore Drive in the Malone area of Belfast. Joe Graham
Joe Graham
Anthony Joseph "Joe" Graham , is a Belfast-based Irish writer and historian. He founded Rushlight: The Belfast Magazine in 1972....
in his book, Belfast Born Bred And Buttered speaks fondly of having been taught by Mr McLaverty both at St John's and St Thomas's schools. For a short period he lived on Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island is an island off the coast of County Antrim, and is the northernmost point of Northern Ireland. Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland, with a rising population of now just over 100 people, and is the most northerly inhabited island off the Irish coast...
, off the County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
coast, where he gained much of the inspiration for his short stories. In the 1950s-60s he was the principal of St. Thomas' Secondary School on the Whiterock Road in the upper Falls Road area of West Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. During his tenure there Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
was one of his staff. Heaney recalls McLaverty's enthusiasm for teaching but also for literature. He introduced Heaney to the work of Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh was an Irish poet and novelist. Regarded as one of the foremost poets of the 20th century, his best known works include the novel Tarry Flynn and the poems Raglan Road and The Great Hunger...
. Hillal suggests that McLaverty was like a foster father to the younger Belfast poet.
Writing
McLaverty was one of Ireland's distinguished short story writers, painting with spare intensity the northern landscape of his homeland, the hill farms, rough island terrain and the backstreets of Belfast. He focuses on moments of passion, wonder or bitter disenchantment in lives of struggle. His collected works are illustrated with woodcuts by Barbara Childs, and including an introduction by Seamus Heaney and a foreword by Sophia Hillan,Heaney summarised McLaverty's contribution: "His voice was modestly pitched, he never sought the limelight, yet for all that, his place in our literature is secure." In the introduction to McLaverty's Collected Works, Heaney describes the writing: "His tact and pacing, in the individual sentence and the overall story, are beautiful: in his best work, the elegiac is bodied forth in perfectly pondered images and rhythms". Heaney's poem Fosterage, in the sequence Singing School from North (1975) is dedicated to him.
Collected works
- Call My Brother Back (1939)
- Lost Fields (1941)
- Collected Short Stories (1978)