Benedict Kiely
| Benedict Kiely | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
15 August 1919 Dromore, County Tyrone, Ireland |
| Died | 9 February 2007 (aged 87) Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | Mount St Columba |
| Alma mater | National University |
| Genres | journalist, critic, short stories |
| Spouses | Maureen O'Connell Frances Kiely |
| Children | 3 + 1 deceased in infancy |
Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone.
Benedict Kiely was born in Dromore, County Tyrone to Thomas John and Sarah Alice (née Gormley) Kiely. His mother was from Claramore, a townland near Drumquin. He was the youngest of six children. Kiely's father, Tom, a native of Moville, County Donegal, was a Boer War veteran. When he was only eighteen, he joined the Leinster Regiment. Over the next five or so years, he travelled over Ireland and abroad, including the Caribbean, and finally, to South Africa. He was decorated for heroism, for his actions in the Boer War (during which time he had met with General Christiaan De Wet).
Sometime after having returned to Ireland, Tom Kiely took up employment with the Ordnance Survey as a survey measurer (or "chain man"—so called because a chain was used to do the measuring). In 1920, Tom and Sarah, and their six children, moved from James Campbell's farm in Dromore to Omagh, where Tom took up the position as the porter in the newly opened Munster and Leinster Bank. After living for a short time in Castle Street and Drumragh, the family finally settled in St Patrick's Terrace in the Gallows Hill area of Omagh. This area was to be a lasting inspiration for Benedict Kiely.
Whilst he was a teenager, Kiely began to feel the urge to become a writer. He had a keen interest in the work of George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells and Jonathan Swift. In 1936, after completing his education at Mount St Columba Christian Brothers School in Omagh, he went to work as a sorting clerk in Omagh Post Office, where his brother-in-law Frank McCrory was working (Frank was the husband of Kiely's sister Eileen).
However, Kiely soon realised that the post office would not provide him with the life of the scholar which he so desired. So, in the spring of 1937, he left Omagh and began a new life in Emo Park, Portarlington, Co. Laois, where he decided he would train as a Jesuit priest. His life as a Jesuit was not meant to be for, exactly a year later, in the spring of 1938, Ben suffered a serious spinal injury, which resulted in a lengthy stay in Cappagh Hospital in Finglas, Dublin. During his hospitalisation, Kiely was given plenty of time to think about the course his life had already taken, and about a course it might take. He also realised that he lacked a vocation to the priesthood and abandoned his training as a Jesuit.
...
Wikipedia