# Michael Hewson

Michael Hewson (died 1992) was an Irish librarian and director of the National Library of Ireland.

## Overview

Michael Hewson was born in Ballynacally, County Clare. He was the keeper of printed books and later the director of the National Library of Ireland from 1982 to 1988. In 1985, he oversaw the donation of a large collection of material relating to W. B. Yeats. He died in the Mater Hospital in 1992.

## Early life and family

Michael Hewson was born in Ballynacally, in the parish of Kilchreest, Co. Clare, circa 1930. His parents were John Hewson and Bridget Hewson (née Kelly) and were known to be very active in the Ballynacally community. John Hewson was a ‘well-known’ draper. His involvement in a number of local organisations and his membership of the executive committee of the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of the Irish language, music, song and dance, led to him to being viewed as a ‘shining light’ of the community. Bridget Hewson was also a leading member of the Irish Countrywomen's Association and the Apostolic Work Society.
Michael Hewson was the oldest of four siblings, including two sisters Mary and Marguerite. Mary joined The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary, Killashandra and would later move to the United States to continue her work as a nun. He also had a brother, William. In 1949, at age eighteen, William and his cousin drowned while bathing off the coast of Doughmore, Doonbeg, near Kilkee, Co. Clare. There was an inquest held which stated that when they were found their hands were ‘clasped together’.
Hewson was raised Roman Catholic and was educated in St Flannan's College in Ennis. While in school, he took part in several sports, including football, hurling, and handball. He completed his Leaving Certificate in 1948 and would go on to study Classics at University College Dublin.
He took up a job as an assistant librarian in Ennis public library before moving to Dublin in 1953. He took part in several leisure activities, including orienteering, mountain walking, and bridge. He also competed in four marathons, with a best time of approximately three hours. Hewson stated in an interview with The Irish Times that he believed that this was a ‘respectable time’ for a man of his age.
While living in Dublin, he met his wife, Una. They moved to Glasnevin and had five children, two boys and three girls.

## Career

Michael Hewson began his career as an assistant keeper staff of the National Library of Ireland in 1953 which he carried out with zeal and enthusiasm while serving various units in the library.
Having demonstrated diligence while he served various departments in the National Library of Ireland, he was appointed keeper in the Department of Manuscript in 1973 which came as a promotion in the course of his service year.
Also in 1973, he gave a talk titled 'Prints and drawings in the National Library Of Ireland.'
In 1975, Michael Hewson published The Catalog of Irish Topographical Prints and Drawings in the National Library of Ireland. This was sponsored by the National Library of Ireland Society.
Later, in 1976, he was appointed keeper of printed books which he managed for three good years. During that time, he gave another talk/ presentation titled ‘Caricatures in the Collection of the National Library Of Ireland.'
In 1982, he got to the peak of his career as a librarian where he was appointed the Director of the National Library Of Ireland immediately after the resignation of Alf Mac Lochlainn.

## Later career and death

The pinnacle of Hewson's career came with his promotion to director of the National Library of Ireland in 1982, when the previous director Alf MacLochlainn left the role for the University of Galway. He also became the Honorary Secretary of the National Library of Ireland Society for a year, handing the position over to Dònall Ò Lùanaigh in 1983.
Hewson's directorship coincided with the most difficult time in the Library's history. In 1986, the Irish government decided to change the department responsible for the National Library from the department of education to first the Taoiseach's department and then the Department of Arts and Culture, now known as the Department on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. This resulted in issues with funding, leading to minimized staffing and shorter library hours.
The 1980s was a time of economic crisis in Ireland. The shift of the National Library's funding from the Taioseach's department to the Department of Arts and Culture meant that its funding decreased to the point where the National Library Society filed a motion with the Taioseach in order for it to provide its accustomed high standard of scholarly services.
Though overshadowed by the economic crisis, there were some highlights during Hewson's directorship. One such highlight was in 1985. W.B. Yeats' son Hewson donated a collection of 1,000 of his father's writings to the Library.
Hewson retired from the National Library in 1989, handing off the directorship to Dr. Patricia Donlon.
Michael Hewson died on Monday 3 February 1992. His death was unexpected and came four years after his retirement from the National Library. He had continued to visit the Library as a reader, including the Saturday before he died.
He was buried in Dardistown Cemetery, Dardistown, Dublin that had opened a couple years prior in west Dublin. His gravestone reads "In Loving Memory of Michael Hewson, Glasnevin Park, Died 3rd Feb 1992".

## Legacy

It was during Hewson's directorship that responsibility for the funding of NLI passed from the Department of Education to the Department of the Taoiseach. It remained the responsibility of this department until 1992 when a new government department was established with responsibility for culture. These steps paved the way for the 2005 establishment of the NLI as an autonomous national cultural institution.
Hewson raised the profile of the NLI by represented it at various national and international committees such as the Irish Manuscripts Commission. He was instrumental in establishing cooperation with the British Library with the founding of the Newsplan project, a co-operative preservation project for newspapers in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
As well as working for the NLI, Michael Hewson was a keen user of the NLI's manuscript collection, seeing it as an important resource for Irish history. As such he researched and wrote various articles on local and national history. Between 1965 and 1981 he published four articles in the North Munster Antiquarian Journal on various aspects of the history of Munster and Co. Clare, his home county. Three of these have been digitised and are available from Limerick City Library. Between 1962 and 1964 Michael Hewson published five popular history articles in The Irish Independent on a wide array of Irish social history topics: the history of the animal designs on early coinage of the Republic of Ireland; the history of Edward Jenner, inventor of the smallpox vaccine; the surprising history of sedan chairs in 1800s Dublin; the story of Henry Ford’s connection with Co. Cork; and of Vere Foster, inventor of a style of handwriting copybook for young school children.

## Publications

* Michael Hewson, (Monday 29 January 1962) “Edward Jenner's Great Discovery.” Irish Independent. p.6.
* Michael Hewson, (Monday 5 March 1962) "Did our coinage depend on a wrong address?" Irish Independent. p.7.
* Michael Hewson, (Thursday 7 March 1963) “In the days of the sedan chair.” Irish Independent. p.10.
* Michael Hewson, (Tuesday 30 July 1963) “The Father of Tin Lizzie.” Irish Independent. p.8.
* Michael Hewson, (Thursday 13 February 1964) “Vere Foster: generous friend of Ireland.” Irish Independent. p.10.
* Michael Hewson, (1965) ‘A word-list from south-west Clare’, North Munster Antiquarian Journal 9/4 182–86.
* Michael Hewson, (1965) ‘A source for 19th century Clare history’, North Munster Antiquarian Journal 9/4 194–95.
* Michael Hewson, (1965) ‘The diaries of John Singleton, of Quinville, Co. Clare’, North Munster Antiquarian Journal 17 103–09.
* Rosalind M. Elmes and Michael Hewson, (1975) Catalogue of Irish topographical prints and original drawings.
* Hewson, Michael, (1977) Robert Stearne's diary of the Williamite campaign. An Cosantóir, 33 49–53.
* Michael Hewson, (1981) ‘Emigration to the “North American Colonies” from the port of Limerick in 1841’, North Munster Antiquarian Journal 23 67–76.
* Ainsworth, J. F., & Hewson, M. (1985). Manuscript Collections in Private Keeping: Reports in National Library of Ireland. Analecta Hibernica, 32, 27–33.