More than 400 manuscripts and correspondence of Maurice Walsh (1879-1964), the noted Irish novelist and short-story writer, were on display at the weekend at the Special Collections Library of the University of Limerick.
Following the death of the Kerry-born author 38 years ago, the collection was stored in the safety deposit section of the Bank of Ireland in College Green, Dublin.
With the permission of the family, it was recently transferred to the University of Limerick library. Of special interest was the manuscript of The Quiet Man, the best known of the author's short stories which was made famous by the John Ford film made in the west of Ireland. The film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, won two Academy Awards in 1952.
Mr Martin Morris, an archivist who worked on the collection, told how Ford, the director, at first rejected the script because John Wayne's fight with Victor McLaglen in the film was too short as it ended with one solid blow from John Wayne.
In the extended rewrite, it became the highlight of the film. Mr Morris also said that towards the end of 1939, Maurice Walsh wrote an article for the Saturday Evening Post in defence of Irish neutrality. Mr Joseph Connolly, the Irish censor, cut out part of the article and Walsh refused to have it published in the expurgated form.
The government intervened, saying that the full article would be very valuable to Irish interests in the US, where Maurice Walsh was an established writer.
Three grandsons of the author attended the display of the manuscripts.
Mr Manus Walsh said: "Grandad was a lovely man, who lived with us for many years. The papers and manuscripts were kept under the stairs with the sweeping brush, dusters and Hoover. But we were told not to interfere with them."
Mr John Lancaster, director of the University of Limerick Library, said that they were pleased to have the collection available for viewing by the general public and academics. It was, he said, being acquired under the auspices of the Glucksman Chair of Contemporary Writing.
Other manuscripts in the collection include those of The Small Dark Man, Blackcock's Feather, Trouble in the Glen, The Spanish Lady and Danger Under the Moon.