Bryan Walter Guinness

Life
1905-1992; 2nd Baron Moyne, ed. Eton and Oxford; English Bar, 1930; m. Diana Mitford (who later married Oswald Mosley); MIAL; vice-chairman Guinnesses, Gov. National Gallery, and Commiss. Irish Lights. Patron. D. Litt. TCD and NUI. DIW DIL

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Works
Plays
  • The Fragrant Concubine: A Tragedy (London 1938).
  • A Riverside Charade (1954).
Poetry (selected)
  • Twenty-three Poems (1931).
  • Reflexions (1947).
  • Collected Poems (1956).
  • Selected Poems (1964).
  • The Clock (1973).
Poetry (collected)
  • [As Lord Moyne], On a Ledge: New and Selected Poems (Dublin: Lilliput Press 1992).
 

See also ‘Absentee’, a poem in Agnes Birnelle, ed., Decantations, A Tribute for Maurice Craig (Dublin: Lilliput Press 1993), p.71; “The Snowflakes”, in Poetry Review. Vol. 42 [q.d.].
Novels
  • Singing Out of Tune (1933).
  • Landscape with Figures (1934).
  • A Week by the Sea (1936).
  • Lady Crushwell’s Companion (1938).
  • A Fugue of Cinderellas (1956).
  • Leo and Rosabelle (1961).
  • The Giant’s Eye (1964).
  • The Engagement (1969).
  • Hellenic Flirtation (1978).
Short fiction
  • The Girl with the Flower (1966) [short stories].
Children’s fiction
  • The Story of Johnny and Jemima (1936).
  • The Children of the Desert (1947).
  • The Animal’s Breakfast (1950).
Autobiography
  • Diary Not Kept (1975) [essays].
  • Potpourri (1982) [memoirs].

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Note: “The Queen in the Desert”, a ballad by Bryan Guiness [sic] appears in Broadsides: A Collection of Old and New Songs, ed. F. R. Higgins with W. B. Yeats (Dublin: Cuala MCMXXXV [1935]), and also in the rep. edn. (IUP 1971) of same with an errata attached, as follows: ‘Bryan Guinness writes : “The name of my poems should have been ‘The Forlorn Queen’ which is the name of the tune in Bunting’s Collection of 1796. In line 2, for  ‘desert” read ‘desolate”, and in signature for ‘Guiness” read ‘Guinness’”.’

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Notes
The Black Stuff: See Edward J. Bourke, The Guinness Story: The family, The business and the Black Stuff (Dublin: O’Brien Press 2009).

Guinness dynasty: ODNB2 lists Arthur Edward Guinness, Lord Ardilaun (d.1917); Edward Cecil Guinness, the chief philantropist (d. 1927); Henry Grattan Guinness (d. 1910), and Walter Edward Guinness (d.1944), and refers to article on B. L. Guinness in ODNB. Doherty & Hickey, A Dictionary of Irish History 1800 (1980), lists Sir Benjamin Lee (1798-1868) and Edward Cecil, 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847-1927).

Farmleigh House: The Benjamin Iveagh Library was assembled during the lifetime of the 3rd Earl of Iveagh, Benjamin Guinness (1937-1992). He was a very keen bibliophile and an astute collector of rare books, manuscripts and bindings. The collection amounts to over 5,000 items and includes many important Irish books and manuscripts. Amongst the historical manuscripts in the collection is a copy of Topography of Ireland by Gerald of Wales dating from 1280, an Irish primer that Queen Elizabeth I used to learn phrases from the Irish language, as well as archive material relating to Daniel O’Connell, Sir Roger Casement and Lennox Robinson. The printed works include many early Irish imprints and rare periodicals. All of the major Irish writers are represented in the collection with first or special editions including first editions of Ulysses and Gulliver’s Travels. A particular strength of the collection is in fine Irish bindings. The library holds some of the finest examples of Irish bookbinding from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The collection was recently donated to Marsh’s Library by the Guinness family. It will continue to be held at Farmleigh and will remain in the care of the Office of Public Works. The collection may consulted by appointment. Requests to consult or reproduce material from the Benjamin Iveagh Library should be directed to julia.cummins@opw.ie. (Notice on the pages of DIAS/ISO online; accessed 23.05.2011.)

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