- McGahern, John
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▪ 2007Irish novelist and short-story writer (b. Nov. 12, 1934, Dublin, Ire.—d. March 30, 2006, Dublin), was noted for his depictions of Irish men and women constricted and damaged by the conventions of their native land, his keen observations of the human heart and of Irish society, and his accomplished, effortless style. Perhaps his most acclaimed work was Amongst Women (1990), which centred on a tyrannical father who was a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader. Amongst Women was awarded the Irish Times/Aer Lingus Literary Award, short-listed for the Booker Prize, and adapted into a BBC television series (1998). McGahern, himself the son of a policeman who had once been a member of the IRA, worked as a teacher while taking evening courses at University College, Dublin. He graduated with a B.A. degree in 1957. His first published novel, The Barracks (1963), won several awards. His second, The Dark (1965), however, earned the wrath of Irish censors for its frank sexual portrayals, and McGahern was asked not to return to his teaching job. His later novels included The Leavetaking (1974), The Pornographer (1979), and That They May Face the Rising Sun (2002; also published as By the Lake). His short stories, admired for their economy of structure and original style, were collected in Nightlines (1970), Getting Through (1978), High Ground (1985), The Power of Darkness (1991), and The Collected Stories (1993). McGahern also wrote several plays and an autobiography, Memoir (2005; also published as All Will Be Well).
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▪ Irish authorborn November 12, 1934, Dublin, Irelanddied March 30, 2006, DublinIrish novelist and short-story writer known for his depictions of Irish men and women constricted and damaged by the conventions of their native land.McGahern was the son of a policeman who had once been a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). While taking evening courses at University College (B.A., 1957) in Dublin, he worked as a teacher. His first published novel, The Barracks (1963), tells of a terminally ill, unhappily married woman. Praised for its brilliant depiction of Irish life and for its sensitive portrayal of despair, the work won several awards. The Dark (1965) is a claustrophobic portrait of an adolescent trapped by predatory male relatives in a closed, repressed society. McGahern's frank sexual portrayals in this novel earned the wrath of Irish censors, and he was asked not to return to his teaching job. His later novels include The Leavetaking (1974) and The Pornographer (1979). Perhaps his most acclaimed work is Amongst Women (1990), which centres on a tyrannical father who was a former IRA leader; it was adapted into a popular television series (1998) for the British Broadcasting Corporation. That They May Face the Rising Sun (also published as By the Lake) appeared in 2002.McGahern is noted for his accomplished, effortless style and his keen observations of the human heart and of Irish society. His short stories, admired for their economy of structure and original style, are collected in Nightlines (1970), Getting Through (1978), High Ground (1985), and The Collected Stories (1993). McGahern also wrote an autobiography, Memoir (2005; also published as All Will Be Well).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
