An Irishman’s Diary on the celebrated Richard Hayward

Mark Twain once defined literary immortality as “about 30 to 35 years”. In his case he misjudged the longevity of his future success since his books remain in print 130 years after he wrote them.

But it is the fate of most writers that after their death their reputation falls away and they are quickly forgotten. A classic case is Richard Hayward, the author of popular regional travel books about Ireland in the mid-20th century. Fifty years after his death in 1964, few remember his achievements but in his time he was one of the country’s best-loved cultural figures.

Although born in Southport, Lancashire, Hayward grew up in Larne, Co Antrim. He tried to disguise his English background and devoted his days to promoting Ireland. Apart from his travel writing, he lived his life in a whirl of activity. In his groundbreaking radio plays in the early days of the BBC in Belfast during the 1920s, he worked alongside Tyrone Guthrie in the heady new world of broadcasting.

Hayward was also a pioneering filmmaker, starring in some of the first "talkies" made in Ireland. These included The Luck of the Irish in 1935 and Irish and Proud of It (1936). In the latter, a young actress, Dinah Sheridan, appeared alongside him in the lead role. Years later she went on to play the part of Mrs Waterbury in The Railway Children.

As a theatrical impresario, Hayward helped shape the world of Ulster drama. When no other companies would touch them, he staged the gritty realism plays of the unemployed shipyard worker Thomas Carnduff at the Abbey Theatre. Carnduff was described by the Dublin press, including this paper’s drama critic, as “the Sean O’Casey of the North”.

Hayward’s name was familiar to Radio Éireann listeners and as a singer he toured the country with Delia Murphy, “The Queen of Connemara”, whom he discovered through his work as a talent scout for music companies.

He also sang in Dublin with Anna Meakin at both the Theatre Royal and the Olympia which helped bring him to the attention of a wider audience.

He recorded more than 150 traditional Irish songs and Orange ballads with Decca, and his arrangement of The Humour is on Me Now was used in The Quiet Man. The author of the original story, Maurice Walsh (who also died 50 years ago) championed Hayward's name and contributed forewords to four of his books. One of the most enduring images is a photograph of Maureen O'Hara reading Hayward's book The Corrib Country while taking a break from her role as Mary Kate Danaher.

Hayward was an early example of the cult of celebrity. Through his books and tour guiding with the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club, he conducted excursions to the Burren, the Corrib and his beloved Shannon region as well as Cork and Kerry. But the destination was irrelevant to those attending who simply wanted to enjoy his company over a long Easter weekend.

Apart from his cultural activities, Hayward worked two days a week as a sales agent for Fox’s Glacier Mints and Needler’s Chocolates. These earnings helped fund family holidays when the royalties from his artistic endeavours did not yield much income. He joined Fox’s a year before “Peppy the Polar Bear” first appeared on the sweet bag wrapper, and to some of his friends he was known under the mischievous soubriquet as “the Glacier Mints Man”.

His forebears in London ran a foundry making manhole covers and pavement lights. To this day the Hayward Brothers name can be seen by the gimlet-eyed on numerous pavement lights on the streets of Dublin 2. Along College Green, St Andrew Street, and in South Anne Street, off Grafton Street, the name Hayward is embedded in the pavement.

After his death in a car crash, which made front-page news, Richard Hayward’s name disappeared. The writing and singing world was changing dramatically and his books – thoughtful meditations on an older Ireland – were relegated to period-piece descriptions. His collaborative comedy sketches, which once provided the ingredients for best-selling 78s with Jimmy O’Dea and Harry O’Donovan, became dated.

Hayward's legacy will be discussed at the Immrama Festival of Travel Writing in Lismore on June 13th. Paul Clements is the author of Romancing Ireland, Richard Hayward, 1892-1964, published by the Lilliput Press.