Life
1909-1984 [Roibeard Ó Faracháin; earlier Riobárd],
b. Robert Farren, in working-class Dublin; ed. St. Patrick’s Training
College and UCC; MA Thomistic Philosophy; worked as teacher in Dublin
till becoming Radio Eireann talks officer, 1939; Features Officer, 1943;
MIAL; co-founder of Irish Lyric Theatre with Austin Clarke, 1944; Abbey
Director, 1940-73; Controller of Programmes (radio), Deputy Director,
RÉ, 1947, and Controller, 1953-1974; ; poet and short-story writer;
Fíon gan Mhoirt (1938); his plays include Assembly at
Druim Ceat [var. Convention], and Lost Light (both Abbey
1943); poetry in English, Thronging Feet (1936; US edn. 1937),
intro. by Daniel Corkery; Time’s Wall Asunder (1939); The
First Exile (1944), an epic poem on St. Columcille; Rime Gentlemen,
Please (1945); Selected Poems (1951); also Towards An Appreciation
of Poetry (1947); The Course of Irish Verse (1947), promoting
assonantial prosody as a measure of Irishness; reputedly saw to it that
Kavanagh’s Tarry Flynn was unbanned. DIW DIB OCIL.
Works
Poetry, Thronging Feet (London: Sheed & Ward 1936);
Time’s Wall Asunder (London: Sheed & Ward 1939); This
Man was Ireland: A Poem (1943; published in London as The First
Exile (London: Sheed & Ward 1944); Rime Gentlemen, Please:
Selected Poems (London: Sheed & Ward 1945); Selected Poems
(Lon&NY: Sheed and Ward 1951).
Criticism, The Course of Irish Verse (NY: Sheed & Ward 1947; London Edn. 1948), 171pp. [index. p.169ff.]; Towards An Appreciation of Poetry (Dublin: Metropolitan 1947).
The Course of Irish Verse (NY: Sheed & Ward 1947), 171pp. [index. p.169ff.] CONTENTS: Preface [xi]; I. Beginnings: Goldsmith, Swift, Berkeley, Burke and Sheridan [1]; II. The Irish Mode in Thomas Moore [4]; III. The Non-contributors: George Darley, John Francis Waller [9]; IV. Irish Themes: The common Irish; Catholicism; Fairy Magic; History; Mythology; Patriotic Sentiment [12]; V. J. J. Callanan, ‘The sweet wild twist of Irish Song’ [20]; VI. Sir Samuel Ferguson: Heroic legend; Assonance; Translations from Gaelic Poetry [23]; VII. Edward Walsh, translator: ‘The one fully-orbed Irishman’ [28]; VIII. James Clarence Mangan: A poet of major dimensions; Gaelic melody and extravagance; the Nation group [30]; IX. The changing atmosphere [43]; X. Aubrey de Vere [44]; XI. Denis Florence MacCarthy [46]; XII. William Allingham: Remodelling of old ballads; Anglo-Irish speech; Magic-poetry [47]; ‘Aghadoe’ and ‘Stumpie’s Brae’; ‘The Semi-Scottish dialect’ [[53]; XIV. William Larminie: Assonance; Hyde; The summing up of the translation movement; The Love Songs of Connacht [57]; XV. Yeats: leader of a movement; the ear of the world; Style; An Irish poet; A theatre; Statement of aims [64]; XVI "A.E." (George Russell); Propaganda [79]; XVII ‘A.E.’s Canaries’ [86]; XVIII ‘Seamus O’Sullivan: The Dubliner [86]; XIX. Joseph Campbell: the Antrim-man; Scottish folklore; Simple man and sage; Gaelic Poetry [90]; XX. Padraic Colum: Midlander; translator; ‘The most Irish of living poets?’ [98]; XXI. James Stephens: The Rending of the Veil; Insurrections; Lyricism; Fantasy; Rebel into lover [104]; XXII. Francis Ledwidge: Meathman; Pastoral Poetry; 1916; ‘Irish at the end’ [114]; XXIII. Ledwidge’s ‘Blackbirds’: The 1916 poets; Loss to intellectual Catholicism and Gaelic influence [118]; XXIV. Synge: Revolt against tapestry poetry; ‘Verse must learn to be brutal’; Synge’s ramifying influence [123]; XXV. Influence of the Rising on F. R. Higgins and Austin Clarke [128]; XXVI. Higgins: poetry with two native counties [sic]; A country Poet; Imagery; Assonance [131]; XXVII. Higgins and Austin Clarke: likeness and unlikeness [147]; XXVIII. Austin Clarke: Epic; Plays; Lyric; a metamorphosed Catholicism; Irish weather; Gaelic prosody; History and myth; Night and Morning; Clarke in the theatre; Humour [150]; XXIX. Irish poetry now [165].
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Criticism
‘The Gaelic Voice in Anglo-Irish Poetry’, in Seán Lucy,
Irish Poets in English (Mercier 1972), pp.131-144.
Anthony Cronin, Heritage Now: Irish Literature in English (Brandon
1982), p.13.
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References
Included in Poems From Ireland, ed with an intro. by Donagh MacDonagh
(Dublin The Irish Times 1944), where there is a short biography.
Henry Boylan, A Dictionary of Irish Biography [rev. edn.] (Gill & Macmillan 1988), ed. St. Patrick’s Training College and UCC; teacher in Dublin till becoming Radio Eireann talks officer, 1939; features officer, 1943; deputy dir., 1947, and Controller, 1953; English works all published under Robert Farren; Poetry includes Rime, Gentlemen, Please (1945); Verse plays, The Convention of Druim Ceat, and Lost Light (performed Abbey 1943); formed Dublin Verse-Speaking Soc., later Irish Lyric Theatre, with Austin Clarke, producing verse plays at Abbey, and Peacock Theatres, and Radio Eireann.
Thronging Feet (US ed. 1936), with intro. by Daniel Corkery; This Man
Was Ireland, A Poem (NY 1943); The First Exile, A Poem [first European
ed. of former title] (1944); The Course of Irish Verse (1948). (Hyland
214).
University of Ulster Central Library, The Course of Irish Verse in English (Sheed & Ward 1948); An Appreciation of Poetry (1947).
Robert Greacen, in Even Without Irene (1969; 1995), records that
Robert Farren was the poet whom Kavanagh most despised (p.164).
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Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco)