Fallon, Helen
(2015)
Promoting
the Maynooth
University
(MU) Ken
Saro-Wiwa
Archive.
Sconul Focus, 63 (63).
ISSN 1745-5790
Abstract
In November 2011, Sister Majella McCarron donated 28 letters and 27
poems written by Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa to the library at
Maynooth University (MU). The letters were written to Sister Majella in the two
years leading up to his execution. Saro-Wiwa had been leading a peaceful
protest against the environmental destruction of his homeland Ogoni in the
Niger Delta, by the international petrochemical industry. Despite widespread
international protest, including the intervention of President Bill Clinton, he
was executed, along with eight others (the Ogoni Nine), by the then Nigerian
military regime. The letters to Sister Majella were smuggled out of military
detention in food baskets. She kept the collection among her personal
belongings for sixteen years. In her mid-seventies she had concerns about the
future of the collection, recognising their potential value to researchers and
human rights activists. She approached MU, which has strong associations
with missionary activity and a range of courses dealing with social justice
issues, as a suitable home for it. Sister Majella also donated a collection of
photographs, video recordings, flyers, articles and artefacts including a cap that
had belonged to Ken Saro-Wiwa and a Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni
People (MOSOP) flag.
Item Type: |
Article
|
Keywords: |
Maynooth University; Ken Saro-Wiwa; Ogoni; Shell; Sister Majella McCarron; |
Academic Unit: |
University Library |
Item ID: |
7630 |
Depositing User: |
Helen Fallon
|
Date Deposited: |
18 Nov 2016 11:36 |
Journal or Publication Title: |
Sconul Focus |
Publisher: |
Sconul |
Refereed: |
Yes |
URI: |
|
Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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