Anthony Cronin
| Anthony Cronin | |
|---|---|
Anthony Cronin, by Patrick Swift, 1950, National Gallery of Ireland
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| Born |
28 December 1923 Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Irish Free State |
| Died | 27 December 2016 (aged 92) Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | University College Dublin |
Anthony Gerard Richard Cronin (28 December 1923 – 27 December 2016) was an Irish poet, novelist, biographer, critic, commentator, barrister and arts activist.
Anthony Cronin was born in Enniscorthy,County Wexford. He obtained a B.A. from the National University of Ireland, entered the King's Inns in 1944 and was called to the Bar in 1948. With Flann O’Brien, Patrick Kavanagh and Con Leventhal, Cronin celebrated the first Bloomsday in 1954. He contributed to many television programmes, including Flann O’Brien: Man of Parts (BBC) and Folio (RTÉ). He had honorary doctorates from several institutions, including Dublin University, the National University of Ireland and the University of Poznan.
As an arts activist and adviser on arts and culture to the Taoiseach Charles Haughey (and briefly to Garret FitzGerald), Cronin was the originator of such initiatives as Aosdána, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Heritage Council. He was the inspiration for, and a founding member of, Aosdána, and was elected its first Saoi (a distinction conferred for exceptional artistic achievement) in 2003. Cronin was a member of its governing body, the Toscaireacht, until his death. He was also a member of the governing bodies of the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Ireland, of which he was for a time Acting Chairman.
Cronin began his literary career as a contributor to Envoy, A Review of Literature and Art. He was editor of The Bell in the 1950s and literary editor of Time and Tide (London). He wrote a weekly column, "Viewpoint", in the Irish Times from 1974 to 1980. Later he contributed a column on poetry to the Sunday Independent.
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