Mary Lavin
UCD Special Collections holds the papers of Mary Lavin.
Identity Statement
Reference code IE/UCD/SC/ML
Reference code IE/UCD/SC/MLP
Title
Mary Lavin Papers.
Dates
[1930–2015]
Level of Description
Fonds.
Extent
64 boxes
Context
Creator
Mary Lavin (1912-1996).
Biographical History
- Mary Lavin was born in East Walpole, Massachusetts, to Irish parents.
- When she was ten the family returned to Ireland.
- Mary attended Loreto Convent School in Dublin and University College Dublin, where she studied English and French.
- She received her M.A. in English from UCD in 1936 and wrote her first short story, Miss Holland on the back of a typed draft of her Ph.D. dissertation on Virginia Woolf.
- The story was published in the Dublin Magazine in 1939.
- In 1940 her short story The Green Grave and the Black Grave appeared in the American publication Atlantic Monthly.
- Lavin’s first collection of short stories, Tales from Bective Bridge, was published in 1942, and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
- Mary Lavin married William Walsh in 1942. The couple moved to County Meath and had three daughters before Walsh’s death in 1954.
- During this period Lavin continued her prolific career, publishing several collections of short stories and a novel, Mary O’Grady.
In 1969, Lavin married again to Michael Scott, a former Jesuit priest. - She received several awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship (1959, 1961), the Katherine Mansfield Prize (1961) and an honorary Doctorate of Literature from UCD (1968).
- Her short stories appeared in many prestigious periodicals such as the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and the Kenyon Review.
- In 1992 the members of Aosdána elected Mary Lavin as Saoi (the highest honour the organisation can bestow) for achieving ‘singular and sustained distinction’ in literature.
Source of Acquisition
- 33 boxes - donated by author
- 29 boxes acquired from the Lavin estate
- 2 boxes - donated by Catherine A Murphy
Scope and Content
- Drafts of short stories and poems [1938-87]
- Personal correspondence, publishing agreements and examination certificates [1926-87?]
Access and Use
- The material in this collection is available by appointment to students, teaching staff, and independent researchers. We also welcome interested members of the public.
- Please contact us at (opens in a new window)special.collections@ucd.ie for further information. To book an appointment (opens in a new window)click here.
Reproduction
Photocopying of archival collections is not permitted. Photography permissions and policies vary. Please contact (opens in a new window)special.collections@ucd.ie for more details regarding the photography of this specific collection.
Language
English.
Finding Aid
Descriptive List
More Information
Find information on Mary Lavin in the (opens in a new window)Dictionary of Irish Biography.