A special hello to Anne McDonald’s Spring 2020 Portmarnock Artist’s Way Group!
These are strange days we live in, aren’t they? But I so admire you for keeping your creativity alive through Anne’s Artist’s Way group.
It means so much to me that Anne uses Later Bloomer as a resource, so I thought I comb my archives for some creative Irish late bloomers!
I created Later Bloomer to bolster my own insecurities as a novice 50-year-old writer. Now, as an experienced 60-year-old writer, I know for sure that creative late-blooming is closer to the “norm” than the media lets on. Don’t believe their youth-culture hype.
The following people all created their first or best-known work between ages 50 and 72.
Bram Stoker: Published Dracula at 50
Bram Stoker (1847-1912) is my personal favorite. Did you know that this Dublin son spent two decades as the manager of a narcissistic Victorian actor named Henry Irving?
At age 50, after twenty years working for Irving, Stoker published Dracula. He probably based Dracula on his flamboyant boss. But Irving refused to play Dracula on stage and told Stoker his book was “dreadful.”
Unfortunately for Irving, Dracula became the most iconic leading role of the 20th century. Today we associate Stoker with Dracula, but he wrote prolifically and successfully for the rest of his life.
Raymond Chandler: Published The Big Sleep at 51
Wait! you’re thinking. Are we talking about the famous author of Los Angeles noir detective fiction? Yes!
Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) was born in Chicago to Irish Quaker parents from Waterford. After her alcoholic husband abandoned the family, Raymond and his mother Florence returned to Waterford. They lived with her brother, Ernest, a successful attorney.
Eventually Florence convinced Ernest to pay for Raymond’s English public school education. They moved to London. Chandler, best known for his gritty American dialogue, spoke with a plummy English accent.
At 24, Chandler moved back to America and settled in Los Angeles. He went through a series of corporate jobs before publishing his first novel, The Big Sleep, at age 51.
Without the support of his family in Waterford, there’s a good chance Raymond Chandler the author wouldn’t have existed. So I think he counts as one of my hidden Irish late bloomers!
Frank McCourt: Published Angela’s Ashes at 66
Frank McCourt (1930-2009) might be the most obvious of our creative Irish late bloomers. He published Angela’s Ashes at age 66 after three decades as a teacher in New York City’s brutal school system. It won the Pulitzer Prize a year later.
But Frank was actually American citizen. He was born in Brooklyn and spent just fifteen years (from ages four to nineteen) in Limerick before returning to New York. But they were the most impactful years of his life and the ones he based Angela’s Ashes on.
Sometimes the country of our birth differs from the country of our soul.
You can discover more about Frank McCourt (and my own Irish archaeological connection) here.
Mary Granville Delany: Invented the Art of Mixed-Media Collage at 72
This might be the most romantic tale in my archives.
At age 17, Mary Granville (1700-1788), who trained as an English lady-in-waiting, was instead married off to a rich ogre to save the family fortune. The old reprobate died seven years later and left her penniless. (Beauty and the Beast without the happily-ever-after.)
But at age 43, Mary found true love with an Irish husband (so she’s actually Irish by marriage). She and Dublin clergyman Patrick Delany enjoyed a close and wonderful quarter-century together, despite her family’s opposition to his religion and nationality. Together they transformed the grounds of his stately home, Delville, into Ireland’s first naturalistic garden. (In 1951, Delville was demolished to make way for Glasnevin’s Bon Secours Hospital.)
Patrick passed away when Mary was 68. She returned to England at the invitation of a friend, Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Portland (who happened to be the richest woman in the country).
Overcome with grief, Mary threw herself into her art. At age 72, she created a new style of botanical illustration that many consider the first instance of mixed-media collage. Without a doubt, her Irish home provided the inspiration.
You can read more about Mary Delany here.
I hope you enjoyed this short tour through Later Bloomer’s hidden archive of Irish late bloomers. Good luck on your creative journey. It’s never too late and you’re never too old for anything!
Warmly,
