Henry Boylan

Life
1912- [Harry Boylan; son and grandson of master mariners in Drogheda to Liverpool service, with brothers at sea; distinguished member of Drogheda Rowing Club; ed. TCD and rowed there also; medal-winner in Tailteann Games, 1932; worked in Land Commission Dept.; m. Patricia Clancy [q.v. as Boylan], 1941; worked in civil service; completed 1st Class degree at TCD; executive of Gaeltarra Eireann, 1950s, developing Gaeltacht industry with support of T. K. Whitaker; fnd. Arramara Teo., marketing seaweed;

joined Radio Éireann at Henry St. base, with Roibeárd ÓFaracháin and others; ed. board of Comhar; issued a Dictionary of Irish Biography (1978, rev. edn. 1988; enl. edn. 1997, 1998), based on independent research as well as existing reference works (viz., ODNB, Crone, and Wills); other works incl. Eire To-Day: A Survey of Life in Modern Ireland (1948) and an edition of the Autobiography of Wolfe Tone (1981, 177); published an autobiography on his own account as A Voyage Round My Life (2002); his wife Patricia is the author of studies and memoirs. DIW OCIL

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Works
  • Theobald Wolfe Tone [Irish Lives Ser.] (Gill & Macmillan 1981; reiss. 1997).
  • This Arrogant City (1984) [a novel]
  • A Dictionary of Irish Biography (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan 1978; rev. edn. 1988) [bibl. pp.413-20]; Do. [enl. edn.] (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan 1997), and Do. [3rd rev. edn. (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan 1998), 462pp.; Do. [new edn. of 3rd rev. edn.] (DubLin: Gill & Macmillan 2002), 480pp.
  • A Voyage Round my Life (Dublin: A. & A. Farmar 2002), 167pp. [autobiography]

Note: His Dictionary of Irish Biography not to be confused with the Dictionary of National Biography (RIA - at dib.ie.

Dictionary of Irish Biographyis available at the RTE Millenia People website - online [defunct at 27.06.2023).

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Notes
Kevin Myers, ‘Rear View’, Irish Times [Weekend] (9 Feb. 1992), writes of Boylan: Of Drogheda sea-faring family back to early nineteenth century; worked for Land Commission; then administrative job with Radio Eireann; took degree in English and Irish at TCD; m. Patricia Clancy; during wartime he returned to Gaelic Services dept of the Dept. of Lands, which managed the Gaeltacht; established Gaeltarra and Arramara; founding member of Gael Linn, which first met at Westland Row; participated in Comhar Dramaíochta at An Damer; chairman of Wexford Slobs Commission (environmental preservation of bird-haven); his Dictionary took 7 years to write; also wrote Wolfe Tone (1981); a book on the Boyne (Valley of the Kings); a book on Dublin; a history of the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

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