Biography of Flann o'brien (a.k.a Myles na Gopaleen)

Essay by julian March 2003

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Flann O'Brien

Introduction:

I have chosen to do a project about a certain Irish author by the name of Flann O'Brien. I have decided to do so because I have read a few of his books before, Further Cuttings From Cruiskeen Lawn, Myles Before Myles and The Hair Of The Dogma. Flann O'Brien and the way he wrote, (humour, now 50 years old) was like no other writer I have ever heard of, and he had a great sense of nonchalance for the era he lived in, it greatly interested me. I was interested to see if I could understand the way he wrote his books, (he wrote in 4 different languages -French, Latin, Irish, and English) and the way he phrased things.

His life:

Brian O'Nolan was born in Tyrone in 1911. He lived in Dublin and graduated from University College Dublin after a brilliant career as a student (editing a magazine called Blather), and joined the civil service, in which he eventually attained a senior position.

His career extended from his student days, through his years in the service and the years following his resignation. He died in Dublin on 1 April 1966. His novels include At Swim Two Birds, The Dalkey Archive, The Third Police Man, The Hard Life and The Poor Mouth (originally published in Irish as an Beal Bocht).

About Cruiskeen lawn:

I chose to read this book because I had started reading it a few years ago but I had never got to finish it. This book is a selection of Myles Na Gopaleen's columns in The Irish Times and covers roughly the period from 1947 to 1957, although some earlier and later pieces are added. Through half its history the column appeared under the name Cruisikeen lawn (Full Jug). It was...