Flann O’Brien
| Brian O'Nolan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
5 October 1911 Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland |
| Died | 1 April 1966 (aged 54) Dublin, Ireland |
| Resting place | Deans Grange Cemetery, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown |
| Pen name | Flann O'Brien Myles na gCopaleen Myles na Gopaleen Brother Barnabas George Knowall |
| Occupation | Civil servant, writer |
| Alma mater | University College, Dublin |
| Genre | Metafiction, satire |
| Notable works |
At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman, An Béal Bocht, The Hard Life The Dalkey Archive Cruiskeen Lawn |
| Spouse | Evelyn McDonnell (1948–1966) |
| Relatives | Conor O'Nolan (nephew) |
Brian O'Nolan (Irish: Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966) was an Irish novelist, playwright and satirist, considered a major figure in twentieth century Irish literature. Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, he is regarded as a key figure in postmodern literature. His English language novels, such as At Swim-Two-Birds, and The Third Policeman, were written under the pen name Flann O'Brien. His many satirical columns in The Irish Times and an Irish language novel An Béal Bocht were written under the name Myles na gCopaleen.
O'Nolan's novels have attracted a wide following for their bizarre humour and modernist metafiction. As a novelist, O'Nolan was influenced by James Joyce. He was nonetheless sceptical of the cult of Joyce which overshadows much of Irish writing, saying "I declare to God if I hear that name Joyce one more time I will surely froth at the gob."
O'Nolan attended Blackrock College where he was taught English by President of the College, and future Cardinal, John Charles McQuaid.
According to Farragher and Wyer:
Dr McQuaid himself was recognised as an outstanding English teacher, and when one of his students, Brian O’Nolan, alias Myles na gCopaleen, boasted in his absence to the rest of the class that there were only two people in the College who could write English properly namely, Dr McQuaid and himself, they had no hesitation in agreeing. And Dr McQuaid did Myles the honour of publishing a little verse by him in the first issue of the revived College Annual (1930) – this being Myles’ first published item.
The poem itself, "Ad Astra", read as follows:
Ah! When the skies at night
Are damascened with gold,
Methinks the endless sight
Eternity unrolled.
O'Nolan wrote prodigiously during his years as a student at University College, Dublin (UCD), where he was an active, and controversial, member of the well known Literary and Historical Society. He contributed to the student magazine Comhthrom Féinne (Fair Play) under various guises, in particular the pseudonym Brother Barnabas. Significantly, he composed a story during this same period titled "Scenes in a Novel (probably posthumous) by Brother Barnabas", which anticipates many of the ideas and themes later to be found in his novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. In it, the putative author of the story finds himself in riotous conflict with his characters, who are determined to follow their own paths regardless of the author's design. For example, the villain of the story, one Carruthers McDaid, intended by the author as the lowest form of scoundrel, "meant to sink slowly to absolutely the last extremities of human degradation", instead ekes out a modest living selling cats to elderly ladies and becomes a covert churchgoer without the author's consent. Meanwhile, the story's hero, Shaun Svoolish, chooses a comfortable, bourgeois life rather than romance and heroics:
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