Author Máirtín Ó Tnúthail was a keen fisherman, an outdoor escape from his academic tasks. There are two parts in this book. The first part is a history of the Newell family. The second is a collection of short stories written by Máirtín Ó Tnúthail, one of the most distinguished members of that family, under the nomme de plume ‘Dermot L. Martyn’.
These were written in the decades after World War II, and were preserved among the papers of his son, the late Fr Eamonn Newell, whose wish it was that they would in due course see the light of day.
The Newells trace their history back to Paul Núil (1711-1784). He was a blacksmith in Annaghdown Forge, Galway. His descendant, Martin Newell (1810-1889), was also a blacksmith. He left Annaghdown and settled in Galway city in 1846.
Martin not only changed his location but also his trade, setting up in Lombard Street in the city a shoemaker business. Seemingly, the business thrived even during the Famine years.
The business was handed on from one generation to another. It was relocated to a fine home and premises in Williamsgate Street in 1917. There it traded under the heading Newell’s Boot and Leather Merchants. This was where Martin J. Newell was born in 1910.
Brod
Máirtín, or Brod as he had become known to his family and friends, won a county council university scholarship to study at University College, Galway in 1926. Within four years he graduated with a master’s degree in mathematical science and had won the National University of Ireland Travelling Scholarship.
This enabled him to attend Cambridge University. There he was engaged in mathematical research and in the study of Quantum Theory with the distinguished scientist, Ralph Fowler, from 1930 to 1933.
On his return to Ireland in 1933, Brod secured an appointment to teach at St Michael’s College, Listowel, Co. Kerry, where he taught mathematics and the classics. He returned to UCG in 1935 as a lecturer in mathematics “through the medium” of Irish. He was appointed professor of mathematics in 1955 and served as president of UCG from 1960 to 1975.
In connection with his lectures Máirtín published third-level textbooks on Calculus and Algebra. He also wrote short stories, including those in this book. These he sent to a journal in London which did not publish them. The stories are of their time. They each enshrine a lesson. The story on a day at the races is a warning against gambling. There is a story deploring class-distinction and snobbery. Another highlights the dangers of complacency.
The number and quality of the illustrations is a feature of this book. President John F. Kennedy appears in two of them: in one he is receiving the freedom of the city of Galway, in the other he is endowed with an honorary degree from the National University of Ireland.
There are also illustrations of Máirtín Newell’s extended family. There is even a picture of him fishing off the Philerimos, the boat in which Máirtín traversed some of the rivers of France”
Siobhán McKenna is in a picture with Máirtín and his wife Noreen. Siobhán was the ‘Jessie Buckley’ of her time. She was also the daughter of Eoghan McKenna, professor of mathematical physics at UCG and a colleague of Máirtín’s.
There are also illustrations of Máirtín Newell’s extended family. There is even a picture of him fishing off the Philerimos, the boat in which Máirtín traversed some of the rivers of France.
The most important illustration is of Máirtín attending the 1942 colloquium at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin. Also to be seen in it are Msgr Pádraig de Brún, president of UCG, President Eamon de Valera, and the distinguished Cambridge professors Paul Dirac and Arthur Eddington.
The book does not conclude without rehearsing a salute to Máirtín by John McGahern in his novel The Dark (London, 1965). In the guise of his chief character Mahoney, McGahern checks out the lecturers at UCG. The only two who measured up to his great expectations were Máirtín who lectured on mathematics and Máirín de Valera whose subject was Botany.
As a finale, the end piece of the text is a most useful genealogy of the Newell / O’Connor families, which will delight genealogists.
Congratulations to the editors, Johnny Newell and Noreen O’Connor, for this splendid tribute to a remarkable academic and scholar.