Troy, Una

Troy, Una

Connor, Elizabeth

Bibliographic Dictionary Entry

1918-1993

O'Toole, Tina

Munster Women Writers Project, University College Cork

Women in Irish Society Project, University College Cork

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Munster, Ireland, 1800-2000

Text

en

Text

Troy, Una

O'Toole, Tina

1918

1993

Fermoy, Co Cork

Clonmel, Co Tipperary

Bonmahon, Co Waterford

Una Troy was born in Fermoy, Co. Cork but moved to Clonmel when her father was appointed a District Justice in 1922. She was educated in Dublin. The family spent their summers in Bonmahon, Co. Waterford, where Una met Joseph C. Walsh (1894-1969), a medical doctor. They married in 1931, living in Bonmahon briefly, before moving to Clonmel. They had one daughter. Having written poetry in her teens, she began her publishing career in 1936, using the pseudonym "Elizabeth Connor". Her first novel, Mount Prospect, was published in England in 1936 but was banned in Ireland. Her second novel, two short stories and four plays written for the Abbey in the 1940s were written between then and 1947, all under the same pseudonym. Her plays were possibly better -known than her other writing during this period. She shared the the Abbey prize competition for new playwrights with her play Mount Prospect, a three-act tragedy. This was produced by Frank Dermody with the stage setting designed by Anne Yeats. It ran for twelve performances at the Abbey and had a week's run at the Cork Opera House.
Una Troy ceased to publish for a period from 1947-1955 when she resumed her publishing career again with We Are Seven (1955), this time using the name "Una Troy". She wrote a further fifteen novels, a short story and co-wrote a film script She Didn't Say No based on her 1955 novel. Her novels, set in rural Waterford, were very popular during the 1950s and 60s. Published in England and the USA, her novels were translated and some were serialised (the Irish Independent serialised The Brimstone Halo in 1965). Her short stories were published in The Bell, Ireland Today and the Kilkenny Magazine. When her husband died in 1969, Una moved to the summer house in Bonmahon where she resided until her death in 1993.
Two of Una Troy's sisters were also involved in the arts. Her youngest sister, Shevaun (1923-1993), was a poet (q.v.), and their sister, Gráinne (1913-1970), who taught at the Sedgely Park Training School in Manchester throughout her life, published some musical compositions in the 1930s.
Note: Ann Butler has compiled a bibliography of Troy's work, which is held by the National Library of Ireland.

Mount Prospect New York D. Appleton-Century 1936
Review of Mount Prospect, by Una Troy Dublin Magazine 1937
The White Glove Ireland Today 1937
Review of Dead Star's Light, by Una Troy Dublin Magazine 1938
The Apple The Bell 1942
We Are Seven New York Dutton 1955
Maggie New York Dutton 1958
She Didn't Say No [Film Script] 1958
The Workhouse Graces New York Dutton 1959
The Other End of the Bridge New York Dutton 1960
Review of The Other Side of the Bridge, by Una Troy Kilkenny Magazine 1961
Esmond New York Dutton 1962
Meine drei Ehemanner: Ein heiterer Roman aus Irland ... Munich Goldman 1964
The Brimstone Halo New York Dutton 1965
The Best Butter Kilkenny Magazine 1966
The Benefactors London Hale 1969
Tiger Puss London Hale 1970
The Castle that Nobody Wanted London Hale 1970
Stop Press! London Hale 1971
Doctor, Go Home! London Hale 1973
Out of the Everywhere London Hale 1976
Caught in the Furze London Hale 1977
A Sack of Gold London Hale 1979
So True a Fool . London Hale 1981
The Apple Woman's Part: An Anthology of Short Fiction by and about Irishwomen 1890-1960 Arlen 1984
The Dark Road Abbey Theatre Michael J. Dolan (Prod.) 12 May 1947
Mount Prospect Abbey Theatre Frank Dermody (Prod.) 22 Apr. 1940
Swans and Geese Abbey Theatre Frank Dermody (Prod.) 22 Sept. 1941
An Apple a Day Abbey Theatre Frank Dermody (Prod.) 7 Sept. 1942
Better to Burn [Novel] NLI Collection List no. 56. Mss. 35.683-699 n.d.

Novels

Plays

Short Stories