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Life
1920-1983 [var. 1980], b. Galway City; suffered death of both parents during early childhood; raised by paternal grandfather - a German refuguee in 1879 who opened a jeweller’s shop at Williamsgate, assisted aided by a caring aunt; ed. at Ignatius College, Galway (the “Jes”); grad. in Medicine at UCG/NUI (Galway); rowed and acted in young manhood; moved to Dublin in 1945, and worked for Browne and Nolan, and afterwards for The Sign of the Three Candles Press with Colm Ó Lochlainn, and wrote for The Standard, later moving to the Irish Press and spent some time free-lancing before settling with the Irish Independent; m. Una Cloherty; d. 18 Jan. 1983, bur. St. Fintan"s Cemetary in Sutton (Co. Dublin);
Faller adapted Anna Karenina and sev. other plays for RTÉ, and wrote some episodes of The Kennedys of Castleross; he issued his first poetry collection as Island Lyrics (1963) [ltd. 150] and published in both Ireland and America, winning several awards; renowned for taciturnity; Lament for Bull Island (1973); The Lilac Tree and Other Poems (1979); fiction incl Genesis (1953), a novel in which a family row ends with a passionate reconciliation and a baby; radio plays, and poetry in Love Poems of the Irish and Penguin Book of Irish Verse; also issued Memoirs: Collected Poems (Dublin 1983); Faller appeared in both the first and second issues of Poetry Ireland (1968- ). DIW IF2
| There is a biographical notice and obituary at the Galway Advertiser - online; accessed 31.07.2023 |
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Works
Fiction, Genesis (London: TV Boardman
1953), 191pp. [a novel]
Poetry, Island Lyrics (Dublin: Colm O’Lochlainn 1963), 46pp. [ltd. edn. 150]; Lament for Bull Island and Other Poems (Dublin: Goldsmith 1973), 61pp.; The Lilac Tree and Other Poems (Dublin: St. Bueno’s Press 1979); Memoirs: Collected Poems (Mornington, Co. Meath: Tracks 1983), 48pp. Also Lyric and Script, intro. by Robert Farren (Dublin: Loescher [1947 or 1949], unpaged.
Anthologies: Poems by Kevin Faller are included in Love Poems of the Irish, ed. Augustus Young (London: Menard Press 1975); The Penguin Book of Irish Verse, ed. Brendan Kennelly (Harmondsworth 1981) and Poetry Ireland: Inaugural reading at Players-Wills Th., Dublin, Fri. 22 Sept. 1978 - 4 poems by John Montague, Kevin Faller, Paul Durcan and Derek Mahon; with one in Irish by Mairtín Ó Direáin (Poetry Ireland 1978), 8pp. [ltd. edn. 150 copies.]; Irish Poetry of Faith and Doubt:The Cold Heaven, ed. John F. Deane (Wolfhound Press 1990).
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| “Ire land” |
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| —Poetry Ireland Review Issue 2, p.2 |
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References
Hyland, Cat. [214] lists Island Lyrics (1st edn. 1963) [ltd. edn. 150 copies]; signed copy, ‘for Frank Carty, my favourite author’.
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