Henchy, Patrick

by Dónall Ó Luanaigh

Henchy, Patrick (1913–2001), librarian and scholar, was born 5 May 1913 in Corofin, Co. Clare, fifth of seven children (four girls and three boys) of Patrick Henchy, merchant of Corofin, and his wife Margaret (née O'Grady). Having received his primary education locally, he attended St Flannan's College, Ennis, for a short time, and then attended St Mary's College, Galway. He graduated BA from UCG in 1935 with double first-class honours in history and Irish, and was awarded the Higher Diploma in Education in the following year. He then taught for a time in St Flannan's, where one of his students was the future diplomat and raconteur Con Howard (qv), who became a lifelong friend. In 1936 Henchy obtained a teaching post in St Eunan's College, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal; among his students there were Neil Blaney (qv) and Ciarán Mac An Ailí, later a civil liberties lawyer and bibliophile. In 1941 he was appointed assistant librarian in the National Library of Ireland (NLI). (This post, which is the entry grade for graduate staff, is now known as assistant keeper.) His friend David Greene (qv) (Dáithí Ó hUaithne), afterwards professor of Irish at TCD and at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, was appointed to a similar post in the library at the same time.

Henchy was for a time in charge of the library's collection of about 80,000 historical and topographical prints and drawings. With the director of the library, R. J. Hayes (qv), seconded to the Department of Defence for the duration of the emergency occasioned by the second world war, much of the library's administration devolved on Henchy, including the details of the acquisition of major estate archives such as the Ormonde collection and modern political collections such as the papers of Bulmer Hobson (qv). He was appointed keeper of printed books (assistant director) of the NLI in 1948. In 1950 he acquired for the library an important collection of the literary manuscripts of Patrick Kavanagh (qv), who was a friend of his. As well as showing much foresight in acquiring this collection for the library, he was also coming to the assistance of the poet at an early stage in Kavanagh's career.

On 15 October 1952 he married Monica Leahy, daughter of Maurice Leahy, lecturer in Fordham University, and Mary D. Leahy, secondary teacher. Mrs Henchy became a member of the library staff of TCD. A Spanish scholar, she was an authority on the history of the Irish colleges in Spain. The couple had three daughters, Mary, Deirdre and Monica.

Henchy was president of the Bibliographical Society of Ireland (which for a time continued the work which John S. Crone (qv) and E. R. McClintock Dix (qv) had effectively begun in the Irish Book Lover). The society published two papers by him, a bibliography of the poet Mary Tighe (qv) (1957) and a bibliography of Irish spas (1958). He was also secretary of the Irish Association of Documentation, which produced a number of editions of a union list of periodicals and serials in Irish libraries, and he worked on the bibliography Writings on Irish history. He was chairman (1963–8) of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna (the Library Council), a government-appointed body drawn from local authorities, the universities and libraries, which consults and advises on the provision of local library services. In July 1967 he became the sixth director (chief librarian) of the NLI in succession to Hayes.

Recognising (from his contacts with heads of other European national libraries) the serious problems which the library faced with regard to under-funding and the resulting lack of storage space, inadequate staffing, and facilities in general, he set about improving matters and was instrumental in having the council of trustees engage Dr K. W. Humphreys (an internationally recognised library consultant) to prepare an extensive report for the government on the library's needs; the Humphreys report was published in 1971 and made a series of recommendations on the library's future, such as greater training of staff and division of the library into departments.

Henchy himself embarked on a campaign of publicity for the library by way of newspaper and periodical articles, radio interviews, and lectures. As Terence de Vere White (qv), the literary editor of the Irish Times, was both a member of the library's council of trustees and a friend of Henchy, the library received support in more than one editorial in that newspaper. Henchy's efforts bore fruit with an increase in library staff and opportunities for external training for staff in archival studies and librarianship, together with the allocation of new storage space for the Department of Manuscripts and the Genealogical Office at the former Kildare Street Club premises. Also, he was the first to seek the refurbishment of the former National College of Art premises in Kildare Street for the use of the Library. This was eventually achieved in 2004.

In October 1969 Henchy called a public meeting in the National Gallery of Ireland at which the National Library of Ireland Society (NLIS) was founded. This society received the support of academics and notable people at home and abroad, among them two friends of his: the literary historian Richard Ellmann (qv) and Eoin McKiernan (qv), president of the Irish American Cultural Institute. Within a few years of its foundation the society had almost 500 members, and it celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2009. Henchy's lecture to the NLIS in 1977 on the Joly family (the gift of Jasper Joly (qv) formed the core collection of the NLI) was published in the Irish University Review (vii, no. 2, 1977). Three years earlier, he was the main speaker at a ceremony held at Joly's grave in Co. Offaly when the NLIS commemorated his gift to the library by placing an inscription on his gravestone.

Henchy was a member of the Irish Manuscripts Commission and of the advisory body for the Royal Irish Academy's New History of Ireland. In recognition of his contribution to Irish studies, he was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by the NUI in July 1971. At the conferring, he was introduced by Monsignor (later Cardinal) Tomás Ó Fiaich (qv). In 1976 he resigned as director of the NLI to take up the post of director of the Chester Beatty Library and Gallery of Oriental Art in Dublin. Here, he brought his administrative skills to bear again on making this internationally famous collection available to a wider public. He retired from this post in 1983. He lectured to the NLIS in 1985 on his experiences in the library, and the lecture was published by the society as an illustrated monograph under the title The National Library of Ireland, 1941–1976: a look back (1986). Through his friendship with the solicitor and antiquarian book collector J. Barry Brown, Henchy was able in 1985 to secure substantial funding through the bequest of Brown and his wife Wanda Petronella Brown for a number of cultural bodies, among them the NLIS, the Royal Hibernian Academy, and the Palestrina Choir of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral. He was a founder member of the Cumann Merriman and gave considerable help to his friend Con Howard in organising its events and lectures.

Like his good friend Edward MacLysaght (qv) (chief herald of Ireland and first keeper of manuscripts at the NLI), Henchy was strongly attached to his native county of Clare. However, his love of Clare did not preclude an enthusiasm and interest in the history and topography of Dublin city and county, reflected in his contributions to the Dublin Historical Record on the subjects of Nelson's Pillar (x, no. 1, March–May 1948) and the architect Francis Johnston (qv), (xi, no. 1, December 1949–February 1950). He was particularly fond of walking in the Dublin and Wicklow hills and shared a deep knowledge of this landscape with his friend J. B. Malone (qv). He was also a keen angler and when asked jocosely at the conclusion of a very serious newspaper interview which book he would like to take away with him from the National Library, if that were allowed, he replied, without hesitation, that his choice would have to be Walton's The complete angler (1653). A devout catholic, he abhorred all forms of triumphalism and religious bigotry. He was a patriot in the best sense, and totally opposed to the use of violence in the achievement of political objectives. In its annual report for 1976, the NLI council of trustees paid him this tribute: 'We deeply appreciate the zeal and energy displayed by Dr Henchy in his work for the strengthening of the staff, the improvement of the accommodation, services and collections of this library during his term of office. He laid the basis for many future projects.' In his Irish Times obituary (12 May 2001), the historian Dr Brendan Ó Cathaoir described him: 'gentleman of the old school, he was urbane and scholarly, always ready to give a word of advice and encouragement'.

Patrick Henchy resided at Eglinton Park, Donnybrook, Dublin, and died there 6 May 2001. After the funeral mass at the church of the Sacred Heart, Donnybrook, he was interred in Deansgrange cemetery. A portrait, pastel on paper by Thomas Ryan, RHA, has been presented by the Henchy family to the NLI. Papers relating to Patrick Henchy are held by the NLI and by his family. His brother was Mr Justice Séamus Henchy (1917–2009) of the supreme court.