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Michael Hewson

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Michael Hewson
Born
Ballynacally, County Clare, Ireland
Died1992
Mater Hospital, Dublin
NationalityIrish
Occupationlibrarian

Michael Hewson (died 1992) was an Irish librarian and director of the National Library of Ireland.

Life

Michael Hewson was born in Ballynacally, County Clare.[1] He was the keeper of printed books and later the director of the National Library of Ireland from 1982 to 1988.[2] In 1985, he oversaw the donation of a large collection of material relating to W. B. Yeats.[3] He died in the Mater Hospital in 1992.[1]

Early Life and Family

Michael Hewson was born in Ballynacally, in the parish of Kilchreest, Co. Clare, circa 1930[4]. His parents were John Hewson and Bridget Hewson (née Kelly) and were known to be very active in the Ballynacally community. John Hewson was a ‘well-known’ draper[5]. His involvement in a number of local organisations and his membership of the executive committee of the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of the Irish language, music, song and dance, led to him to being viewed as a ‘shining light’ of the community[6]. Bridget Hewson was also a leading member of the Irish Countrywomen's Association and the Apostolic Work Society[7].

Michael was the oldest of four siblings, including his two sisters Mary and Marguerite[5]. Mary joined The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary, Killashandra and would later move to the United States to continue her work as a nun[8]. He also had a brother, William. In 1949, at age eighteen, William and his cousin drowned while bathing off the coast of Doughmore, Doonbeg, near Kilkee, Co. Clare. There was an inquest held which stated that when they were found their hands were ‘clasped together’[9].

Michael was raised Roman Catholic and was educated in St Flannan's College in Ennis[10]. While in school, he enjoyed physical activity and took part in many sports, including football, hurling, and handball. He completed his Leaving Certificate in 1948 and would go on to study Classics at University College Dublin[10].

He took up a job as an assistant librarian in Ennis public library before moving to Dublin in 1953[4]. He took part in many leisure activities, including orienteering, mountain walking, and bridge.[10] He also competed in four marathons, with a best time of approximately three hours. Michael has stated in an interview with The Irish Times that he believes that this was a ‘respectable time’ for a man of his age[10].

While living in Dublin, he met his wife, Una. They moved to Glasnevin and would go on to have five children, two boys and three girls[4].

Career

An image from Catalogue of Irish Topographical Prints and Original Drawings[11], by Michael Hewson and Rosalind M Elmes. Watercolour painting by John Harris, Jr.: Dublin and Kingstown Railway, From Blackrock, looking across Dublin Bay towards WIlliamstown & Merrion. Dublin in the distance.

Michael Hewson began his career as an Assistant keeper staff of the National Library of Ireland in 1953[11] which he carried out with zeal and enthusiasm while serving various units in the library.

Having demonstrated diligence while he served various departments in the National Library of Ireland, he was appointed keeper in the Department of Manuscript in 1973[4] which came as a promotion in the course of his service year.

Also in 1973, he gave a talk 'Prints and drawings in the National Library Of Ireland'[12]

In 1975, Michael Hewson published The Catalog of Irish Topographical Prints and Drawings in the National Library of Ireland. This was sponsored by the National Library of Ireland Society.[4]

Later in 1976, which is three years after he had demonstrated his librarianship skills, he was appointed keeper of printed books which he managed for three good years[4]. During that time, he gave another talk/ presentation titled ‘Caricatures in the Collection of the National Library Of Ireland'[12]. His experience in librarianship was getting more interesting until 1982.

In 1982, he got to the peak of his career as a librarian where he was appointed the Director of the National Library Of Ireland immediately after the resignation of Alf Mac Lochlainn.[4]

Later Career and Death

The pinnacle of Michael Hewson's career came with his promotion to director of the National Library of Ireland in 1982, when the previous director Alf Mac Lochlainn left the Library for the University of Galway[12]. He also became the Honorary Secretary of the National Library of Ireland Society for a year, handing the position over to Dònall Ò Lùanaigh in 1983[11].

Dardistown Cemetery on a cloudy fall day. Rows of gravestones with trees in the distance.
Dardistown Cemetery, where Michael Hewson was buried.

Unfortunately for Hewson, his directorship coincided with the most difficult time in the Library's history. In 1986, the Irish government decided to change the department responsible for the National Library from the department of education to first the Taoiseach’s department and then the Department of Arts and Culture, now known as the Department on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media[11].This resulted in issues with funding, leading to minimised staffing and shorter library hours.

The 1980’s was a time of economic crisis in Ireland. The shift of the National Library’s funding from the Taioseach’s department to the Department of Arts and Culture meant that its funding decreased to the point where the National Library Society filed a motion with the Taioseach in order for it to provide its accustomed high standard of scholarly services[12].

Gravestone of Michael Hewson (Irish Librarian) with two flower pots in front of it. Inscription reads "In loving memory of Michael Hewson, Glasnevin Park, died 3rd Feb 1992".
Michael Hewson's Gravestone

Though overshadowed by the economic crisis, there were some highlights during Hewson’s directorship. One such highlight was in 1985. W.B. Yeats’ son Michael donated a collection of 1,000 of his father’s writings to the Library[13].

Hewson retired from the National Library in 1989, handing off the directorship to Dr. Patricia Donlon[11].

Michael Hewson died on Monday, February 3rd, 1992. His death was unexpected and came only four years after his retirement from the National Library[4]. He had continued to visit the Library as a reader, including the Saturday before he died[11].

He was buried in Dardistown Cemetery, Dardistown, Dublin that had opened a couple years prior in west Dublin[14]. His gravestone reads "In Loving Memory of Michael Hewson, Glasnevin Park, Died 3rd Feb 1992".

Legacy

It was during Hewson’s directorship that responsibility for the funding of NLI passed from the Department of Education to the Department of the Taoiseach. It remained the responsibility of this department until 1992 when a new government department was established with responsibility for culture. These steps paved the way for the 2005 establishment of the NLI as an autonomous national cultural institution[15].


Michael Hewson raised the profile of the NLI by represented it at various national and international committees such as the Irish Manuscripts Commission. He was instrumental in establishing cooperation with the British Library with the founding of the Newsplan project, a co-operative preservation project for newspapers in Ireland and the United Kingdom[16][5].


Despite his directorship coinciding with significant budget constraints, he started extensive refurbishment of the library, redeveloping the Kildare Street Club premises to house the Department of Manuscripts[5].

Front gate of the National Library of Ireland with the library building in the background


As well as working for the NLI, Michael Hewson was a keen user of the NLI’s manuscript collection, seeing it as an important resource for Irish history[5]. As such he researched and wrote various articles on local and national history. Between 1965 and 1981 he published four articles in the North Munster Antiquarian Journal[17][18] on various aspects of the history of Munster and Co. Clare, his home county. Three of these have been digitised and are available from Limerick City Library[19][20][21][22]. Between 1962 and 1964 Michael Hewson published five popular history articles in The Irish Independent on a wide array of Irish social history topics: the history of the animal designs on early coinage of the Republic of Ireland[23]; the history of Edward Jenner[24], inventor of the smallpox vaccine; the surprising history of sedan chairs[25] in 1800s Dublin; the story of Henry Ford’s[26] connection with Co. Cork; and of Vere Foster[27], inventor of a style of handwriting copybook for young school children.


His most significant published work is the 1975 Catalogue of Irish Topographical Prints and Original Drawings, which he co-authored with Rosalind M Elmes[4].

Publications

  • Rosalind M. Elmes and Michael Hewson, (1975) Catalogue of Irish topographical prints and original drawings.[28]
  • Hewson, Michael, (1977) Robert Stearne's diary of the Williamite campaign. An Cosantóir, 33 49–53.
  • Ainsworth, J. F., & Hewson, M. (1985). Manuscript Collections in Private Keeping: Reports in National Library of Ireland. Analecta Hibernica, 32, 27–33.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b "Recent Death". Clare Champion. 14 February 1992.
  2. ^ "Corporate Information". www.nli.ie. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  3. ^ "William Butler Yeats Donation". RTÉ Archives. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i D., P. (1995). "Obituary: Michael Hewson". Analecta Hibernica (36): xiv–xv – via JSTOR. Cite error: The named reference ":03" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d e "Ballynacally: Recent Deaths". The Clare Champion. 31 December 1982. p. 9. Cite error: The named reference ":1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Mattie Finnucane is New Muintir Chairman". The Clare Champion. 5 December 1970. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Recent Death". The Clare Champion. 9 January 1971. p. 11.
  8. ^ "Ballynacally: Death". The Clare Champion. 31 August 1984. p. 10.
  9. ^ "Bathing Tragedies: Double Drowning Near Kilkee". The Irish Independent. 15 August 1949. p. 6.
  10. ^ a b c d McGrath, Thomas (5 May 1984). "Michael Hewson: Director of the National Library". The Irish Times. p. 14.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Felix M. Larkin (2007). Librarians, poets and scholars : a festschrift for Dónall Ó Luanaigh. Internet Archive. Dublin ; Portland, OR : Four Courts Press : In association with The National Library of Ireland Society. ISBN 978-1-84682-017-5.
  12. ^ a b c d Ó Lúanaigh, Dónall (2010). Friends of the National Library : forty years of the National Library of Ireland Society. Internet Archive. Dublin : Associated Editions on behalf of the National Library of Ireland Society. ISBN 978-1-906429-13-3.
  13. ^ "Yeats, (William) Michael Butler | Dictionary of Irish Biography". www.dib.ie. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Past and Present". Dublin Cemeteries Trust. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  15. ^ nli. "Our History". www.nli.ie. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  16. ^ nli. "Newspapers". www.nli.ie. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Journal | Thomond Archaeological & Historical Society". Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  18. ^ Thomand Archaeological & Historical Society, Journal, Index of Authors Volumes 1 (1936) - 30 (1988), https://celt.ucc.ie/NMAI1-30.pdf
  19. ^ Council, Limerick City. "Limerick City Council". Limerick City Council. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  20. ^ Hewson, Michael (1965). "A word-list from south-west Clare" (PDF). North Monster Antiquarian Journal. 9 (4): 182–186 – via Limerick City Library.
  21. ^ Hewson, Michael (1975). "The diaries of John Singleton, of Quinville, Co. Clare" (PDF). North Munster Antiquarian Journal. 17: 103–109 – via Limerick City Library.
  22. ^ Hewson, Michael (1981). "Emigration to 'The North American Colonies' from the Port of Limerick in 1841" (PDF). North Munster Antiquarian Journal. 23: 67–76 – via Limerick City Library.
  23. ^ Hewson, Michael (Monday 5 March 1962) "Did our coinage depend on a wrong address?" Irish Independent. p.7.
  24. ^ Hewson, Michael (Monday 29 January 1962) “Edward Jenner’s Great Discovery.” Irish Independent. p.6.
  25. ^ Hewson, Michael (Thursday 7 March 1963) “In the days of the sedan chair.” Irish Independent. p.10.
  26. ^ Hewson, Michael (Tuesday 30 July 1963) “The Father of Tin Lizzie.” Irish Independent. p.8
  27. ^ Hewson, Michael (Thursday 13 February 1964) “Vere Foster: generous friend of Ireland.” Irish Independent. p.10.
  28. ^ "Catalogue of Irish topographical prints and original drawings / National Library of Ireland ; Rosalind... - Catalogue | National Library of Australia". catalogue.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  29. ^ Ainsworth, John F.; Hewson, Michael (1985). "Manuscript Collections in Private Keeping: Reports in National Library of Ireland". Analecta Hibernica (32): 27–33. ISSN 0791-6167.
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