Padraic Colum

• 1. Born In A Workhouse

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  Padraic Colum entered the world on the 8th of December 1881 inside a County Longford workhouse. His father worked there as an employee while his mother Susan Columb waited for their first child to arrive. The family grew quickly with eight children born into that cold institution. Life changed drastically in 1889 when his father lost his job and left Ireland behind. He traveled across the Atlantic to join the Colorado gold rush in America. Padraic and his siblings stayed behind with their grandmother in County Cavan. They lived apart from their father for three years until he returned in 1892. The family then moved to Glasthule near Dublin where his father found new employment at a railway station. Young Padraic attended the local national school during these early years. Tragedy struck again in 1897 when his mother died suddenly. The family split up once more after her death. Padraic remained in Dublin with one brother while his father took the other children back to Longford. He finished school the following year and secured a clerkship at the Irish Railway Clearing House. This job lasted six years until 1903 when he finally quit to pursue writing full time.

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• 2. The Abbey Theatre Founding

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  The couple traveled to the United States in 1914 expecting only a few months abroad. That short visit stretched into most of the rest of their lives together. Padraic took up children's writing after arriving in America. His first book The King of Ireland's Son appeared in 1916. He started translating an Irish folk tale from Gaelic because he did not want to forget the language. Hungarian illustrator Willy Pogany suggested they collaborate on a book project. Colum wove the folktale into a long epic story for young readers. Three of his books received Newbery Honor citations years later. A contract with Macmillan Publishers provided financial security for the remainder of his life. Other titles included The Adventure of Odysseus and The Children of Odin. These works brought classical literature to American children during the early twentieth century. He contributed articles to Emma Goldman's Mother Earth magazine while living there. In 1922 he wrote versions of Hawaiian folklore specifically for young people. This resulted in three volumes published under the title At the Gateways of the Day. A first edition copy was presented to US president Barack Obama by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in May 2011.

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• 3. Crossing To America

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  adapted stories from many cultures including Celtic Norse and Hawaiian traditions. The Island of the Mighty retold hero stories from Celtic Britain using the Mabinogion source material. The Golden Fleece featured heroes who lived before Achilles according to Greek myth. His Hawaiian tales appeared as two separate volumes titled The Bright Islands and Legends of Hawaii. The Big Tree of Bunlahy collected stories about his own countryside in County Longford. Old Pastures followed as another collection of personal memories. Balloon served as a play written in the form of Noh drama. The Girl Who Sat By The Ashes appeared alongside other short stories in 1929. Poems collected together in 1932 showed his range beyond fiction. The Story Of Lowry Maen stood out as an epic poem completed in 1937. He also edited anthologies like The Arabian Nights: Tales Of Wonder And Magnificence. A Treasury Of Irish Folklore gathered stories traditions legends humor ballads and songs. Roofs Of Gold contained poems designed specifically for reading aloud to audiences. These works demonstrated his ability to translate global myths into accessible forms for children.

  Padraic renewed his friendship with James Joyce while living in Paris between 1930 and

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• 4. Global Myths Retold

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  1933. They spent years transcribing the final manuscript of Finnegans Wake together. This collaboration required intense focus on the complex text during their time in France. After leaving Europe they moved to New York City where both taught at universities. Colum wrote Our Friend James Joyce which he finished after Mary died in 1957. The memoir appeared in print in 1958 with co-authorship from his wife. Their partnership had begun decades earlier when they met through literary circles. He divided his later years between the United States and Ireland regularly. In 1961 the Catholic Library Association awarded him the Regina Medal for contributions to literature. His death occurred in Enfield Connecticut on the 11th of January 1972 at age ninety. He was buried in St. Fintan's Cemetery located in Sutton nearby.

  Colum sold notebooks manuscripts galley proofs and letters to Binghamton University Libraries in 1965. He wanted scholars of Irish literature and history to access these resources freely. The collection included materials from apartments in both New York and Dublin. Additional archives exist at Dublin City University and the Harry Ransom Center.

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• 5. The Joyce Manuscript

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  The Padraic and Mary Colum Collection resides at the University of Delaware as well. Plays from his career are held at the University of Pennsylvania library system. An album titled Padraic Colum Reading His Irish Tales And Poems exists at Smithsonian Folkways Records. He told The Literary Digest how to pronounce his name correctly in 1936. The last name sounded like column while the first name used an au sound. Sixty-one books appeared under his name excluding plays written for stage performance. His screenplay Hansel And Gretel remained his only work for cinema released in 1954. These documents preserve a lifetime of creative output for future generations to study.

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