Joseph O'Connor
| Joseph O'Connor | |
|---|---|
Joseph O'Connor introducing the Czech translation of one of his books
(taken by Petr Novák in 2008) |
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| Born |
20 September 1963 Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist |
| Website | |
| www |
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Joseph Victor O'Connor is an Irish novelist. He is known for his 2002 historical novel Star of the Sea. Before success as an author he was a journalist with the Sunday Tribune newspaper and Esquire magazine. He is a regular contributor to Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He is a member of the Irish artists' association Aosdána.
Eldest of five children and brother of singer Sinéad O'Connor, he is from the Glenageary area of south Dublin. His parents are Sean O'Connor, a structural engineer later turned barrister, and Marie O'Connor.
Educated at Blackrock College, O'Connor graduated from University College Dublin with an M.A. in Anglo-Irish Literature. He did post-graduate work at Oxford University and received a second M.A. from Leeds Metropolitan University's Northern School of Film and Television in screenwriting. In the late 1980s he worked for the British Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign; his second novel, Desperadoes, drew on his experiences in revolutionary Nicaragua.
His novel Cowboys and Indians (1991) was on the shortlist for the Whitbread Prize.
On 10 February 1985 O'Connor's mother was killed in a car accident. He had the mother of the character Sweeney in The Salesman (1998) die in such a manner.
In 2002, he wrote the novel Star of the Sea, which The Economist listed as one of the top books of 2003. His most recent novel, Ghost Light is loosely based on the life of the actress Maire O'Neill, born Mary "Molly" Allgood, and her relationship with the Irish playwright John Millington Synge. It was published by Harvill Secker of London in 2010.
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Wikipedia