Christy Brown Novel Returns to Irish Library After Five Decades

An Irish library has received a book back that was discovered in a London apartment, over 53 years after its initial borrowing. This specific volume, Christy Brown’s “Down all the Days,” had been checked out from the Aidan Heavey Library in Athlone over fifty years prior and was originally scheduled for return on 10 September 1971. Its return to the library occurred on Thursday. Paula O’Dornan of Westmeath Libraries stated that library personnel were pleased when a woman reached out, informing them she was bringing back a book described as “a bit overdue.” Paula informed BBC News NI that, according to the woman who returned the item, “The lady returning the book said it had made its way to a flat in London and she was recently entrusted with its return.” She further commented, “The book has been returned in great condition, and Westmeath Libraries will always welcome long lost books back into the fold.” As of January 2019, all public libraries across Ireland ceased imposing fines for books returned past their due date. Paula remarked, “At that time, we would have seen some overdue books returned but I can confidently say that none of them were on loan for over 50 years.” The Irish author, Brown, was born with cerebral palsy, and his personal narrative was depicted in the 1989 Oscar winning film My Left Foot. “Down all the Days,” released in 1970, achieved international best-seller status and is broadly considered his most accomplished literary piece. Paula noted that the book continues to be sought after. She added that another copy is “currently on loan from the Westmeath Libraries showing that there is still interest in the writing of authors of the calibre of Christy Brown.” This content is copyrighted by BBC, 2024. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for material on external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.