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Sarah Poyntz

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Sarah Poyntz
Born18 March 1926
New Ross, Ireland
Died (aged 93)
Ballyvaughan, Ireland
EducationUniversity College Dublin (UCD)
OccupationWriter
PartnerMary Ann Nevins Radzinowicz

Sarah Poyntz (18 March 1926 – 14 September 2020) was an Irish journalist and author.[1] She is known for her contributions over 24 years to The Guardian's Country Diary column, describing The Burren. Some of her columns were subsequently published in book form.[2]

Early life

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Poyntz was born in New Ross, County Wexford, in 1926, the daughter of Francis (Frank) Poyntz and Ellen Theresa (Nellie) Murphy Poyntz. Her father was a solicitor.[3] She had an older brother, Jack, and an older sister, Kitty; Kitty died as a teenager, when she drowned with two others near Fethard-on-Sea in 1936.[4]

Poyntz was educated at Loreto Abbey in Gorey, County Wexford and University College Dublin (UCD).[5] She studied with Lorna Reynolds at UCD.[6]

Career

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Poyntz initially worked as a teacher in England, and was appointed Head of the English Department at the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge, but took early retirement due to ill health.[2] She used her Irish accent on stage, in a student performance of Juno and the Paycock at the Callington County Grammar School in 1963.[7]

Poyntz lived in New York for a time, while her partner was a professor at Cornell University.[6] In 1986 she moved to Ballyvaughan and in 1987 she began writing for The Guardian's Country Diary column.[8] Her columns were usually about nature, flowers, birds, and sometimes archaeological finds in the area.[9][10] In 2003 she wrote her column from France, where she observed migrating house martins near the river Mayenne.[11] In 2006 she wrote a book on the villages of The Burren.[12][13] Poyntz retired from writing in December 2010, at the age of 84.[8]

Publications

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  • A Burren Journal (2000)[2]
  • Memory Emancipated and Poems (2005)[3]
  • Burren Villages (2006)[12]

Personal life

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Poyntz's partner was American Milton scholar Mary Ann Radzinowicz, who sometimes made appearances in the County Diary columns.[14][15] Poyntz died from cancer on 14 September 2020, at the age of 93.[5][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Country Diary: Sarah Poyntz". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Poyntz, Sarah (2000). A Burren Journal. Tír Eolas. ISBN 1-873821-13-1.
  3. ^ a b "Anticipated collection from Poyntz released". Irish Independent. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Three Children Drowned; Painful Wexford Coast Tragedy; Heroic Rescues". Irish Independent. 20 July 1936. p. 6. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Clements, Paul (5 October 2020). "Sarah Poyntz obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b O'Toole, Tina. "Poyntz, Sarah". Munster Women Writers Project, University College Cork. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Pupils Present an Irish Play; Fine Performance at Callington". Cornish Guardian. 19 December 1963. p. 10. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Deegan, Gordon (28 January 2011). "Columnist who gave her readers glimpse of the Burren calls it a day". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  9. ^ Poyntz, Sarah (6 July 2000). "A Country Diary: Of birds and buds". The Guardian. p. 23. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Poyntz, Sarah (19 December 2002). "Country Diary: Life's a Beach". The Guardian. p. 52. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Poyntz, Sarah (23 October 2003). "Country Diary: The gathering form". The Guardian. p. 53. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Poyntz, Sarah (2006). Burren Villages. Mercier Press. ISBN 978-1-85635-674-9.
  13. ^ "Tales of the Burren, and other places". The Irish Times. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  14. ^ Poyntz, Sarah (24 October 2002). "Country Diary: Swanning around". The Guardian. p. 52. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Poyntz, Sarah (18 December 2003). "Country Diary: A close shave". The Guardian. p. 51. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "The death has occurred of Sarah Poyntz". rip.ie. 17 September 2020.
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