Dossier 1 - Poetry by Colm Tóibín

Letters from Colm Tóibín to Fr. Donal O’Mahony OFM Cap. enclosing poems for publication in 'Eirigh'. The file includes a copybook containing a collection of eighteen manuscript poems by Tóibín written in 1971. The file also includes loose sheets of handwritten poetry with cover letters to Fr. O’Mahony. The letters are addressed from Tóibín’s residence at 9 Parnell Avenue, Enniscorthy, and at St. Peter’s College, Wexford. Some of the items note Tóibín’s age at the date of the poem’s composition – aged fifteen in January 1971. The correspondence refers to his childhood experiences, to the influences of some writers on his poetry, and his hopes for publication of his work. The poem titles include:
• ‘A Tragedy – 1970’.
• ‘There’s blood flowing out from the Rose-Bowl’. (29 Nov. 1971).
• ‘My hill’. (2 Jan. 1971).
• ‘New School’. (2 Jan. 1971).
• ‘To wait’. (17 Dec. 1970).
• ‘The despairing song of Mary Magdalen’. (1 Mar. 1971).
• ‘Lourdes’. (5 Apr. 1971).
• ‘Song from a distance’. (5 Apr. 1971).
• ‘Water-death’. (16 May 1971).
• ‘Old lady’. (23 May 1971).
The file also includes a clipping from 'Eirigh' of a poem by Tóibín titled ‘My Lady (To the Blessed Virgin Mary)’.