• Reference code  IE/UCD/SC/MCG
• Title Frank McGuinness Papers
• Dates  1976-
• Level of description Fonds
• Extent 42 boxes

Creator Frank McGuinness (1953 -)

Biographical History

• Frank McGuinness was born in Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
• He studied English and medieval studies at UCD and taught at the University of Ulster, UCD and NUI Maynooth.
• His first play, The Factory Girls, was produced in 1982 at the Peacock Theatre.
• This was followed by many critically acclaimed dramas including:
  • Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (1985)
  • Innocence (1986)
  • Carthaginians (1988)
  • Mary and Lizzie (1989)
  • The Bread Man (1990)
  • Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (1992)
  • The Bird Sanctuary (1994)
  • Mutabilitie (1997)
  • Dolly West's Kitchen (1999)
  • Gates of Gold (2002)
  • Speaking Like Magpies (2005)
  • There Came a Gypsy Riding (2007).
• McGuinness has adapted the works of Ibsen, García Lorca, Chekhov, Brecht, Ostrovsky, Euripides, and Sophocles.
• His play Observe the sons of Ulster marching towards the Somme won the Evening Standard Award for most promising playwright.
• His version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House won a Tony Award in 1997.
• He has also produced an impressive body of work for TV and film including the screenplay for the film Dancing at Lughnasa, adapted from Brian Friel’s stage play.
• His first collection of poetry, Booterstown, was published in 1994, followed by The Sea With No Ships (1999), The Stone Jug (2003) and Dulse (2007).
• McGuinness is currently Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence at UCD School of English, Drama and Film.

Source of Acquisition On deposit from author.

Drafts and fragments of stage plays including:

• Carthaginians
• The Man with the Flower in his Mouth
• Hedda Gabler
• Flesh and Blood
• The Bird Sanctuary
• The Stonger
• Dracula
• More Sinned Against than Sinning
• Ladybag
• The Caucasian Chalk Circle
• Friends
• Electra
• The Bread Man
• Miss Julie
• Borderlands
• Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme
• Donegal
• Feed the Money and Keep Them Coming
• Mary and Lizzie
• Judge and Gentleman
• Rosmersholm
• Child of Prague
• God (first play)
• The Factory Girls
• Baglady
• The Pilgrims of Mecca (libretto)
• The Storm
• Life of its Own
• Peer Gynt
• The Hen House
• Ivory
• Brides of Ladybag
• Gyrfalcon
• And Lead Thou Me On
• Hecuba
• The All of It
• The Sunday Father
• The Lady from the Sea
• Cyrano
• Gates of Gold
• Romantics
• The Right Article
• Phaedra
• Visions of Anna
• Oedipus
• There Came a Gypsy Riding
• The Dead
• Summer With Garbo
• Yerma
• The Judas Sessions
• Italy 
• The Barbaric Comedies
• Dolly West’s Kitchen
• The Beautiful Lie
• Mutabilitie
• Innocence
• Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me

Drafts and fragments of screenplays including:

• Dancing at Lughnasa
• Bartholomew’s Girlfriend
• Ar and Tra
• Titanic Town 
• The All of It
• Rebellion
• Scout
• The Factory Girls
• Lullaby
• A Short Story in Switzerland
• 1916
• The Hen House

Drafts and fragments of poetry including:

• Booterstown
• Poems 2005–2006
• The Sea With No Ships
• Poems 2007
• The Stone Jug
• My Lady With Feet Bounden
• Dulse
• The Corn Crake
• Early Poems
• Dolphin Poems
• Poems
• Five Fingered Strand
• Poems 2003
• Zeke
• Poems 2004
• Rosa O’Doherty

• Access The materials in this collection are available by appointment only to research students, teaching staff and scholars.
  Research students should have a letter of recommendation from their supervisor.
• Reproduction Photocopying or digital photographing of this material is not permitted.
• Language English.
• Finding Aid Partial descriptive list, requires revision.

Find books in the collection:

• Go to the Library catalogue
• Click on Advanced Search and select Author from the drop-down menu
• Insert McGuinness in the search box
• Select Special Collections from the Collection drop-down menu.