English Literature, 20th cent. to the Present: Biographies

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Flann O'Brien

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Flann O'Brien pseud. for Brian Ó Nualláin or O'Nolan 1911–66, Irish novelist and political commentator. Born in County Tyrone and raised in Dublin, he studied at University College, Dublin, entered the Irish civil service in 1937, and formally retired in 1953. From 1940 until his death, he wrote a political column called "Cruiskeen Lawn" for The Irish Times, under the pseudonym of Myles na Gopaleen; his biting, satiric commentaries made him the conscience of the Irish government. Under this name, he also wrote the novel An Be'al Bocht (1941, tr. The Poor Mouth, 1973), a parody of Irish country life. As Flann O'Brien, he published four comic novels in English, all of which display his brilliant abilities at wordplay and absurdist sensibility: At Swim-Two-Birds (1939, repr. 1960), a wildly funny literary send-up widely considered his masterpiece; The Hard Life (1961), a farce; The Dalkey Archive (1964), a satiric fantasy; and the surreal The Third Policeman (1967). He was also the author of a play, Faustus Kelly (1943).

Bibliography: See his Complete Novels (2007); biography by A. Cronin (1998); studies by A. Clissmann (1975), S. Asbee (1991), T. F. Shea (1992), K. Hopper (1995), and K. Donohue (2002).

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O'Brien, Flann

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

O'Brien, Flann, pseudonym of Brian O'Nolan or Brian Ó Nualláin (1911–66), born at Strabane, Co. Tyrone, and educated at University College, Dublin. He contributed a satiric weekly column under the name ‘Myles na Gopaleen’ to the Irish Times. His first novel, At Swim-Two-Birds (1939), is an exuberant work, operating on several levels of invention: a naturalistic portrayal of student and lower-middle-class life; a novel-within-a-novel which deals with the legendary Irish hero Finn Mac Cool; and Irish folklore. The effect is a multi-dimensional exploration of Irish culture and of the nature of fiction, much influenced by Joyce. O'Brien's second novel, An Béal Bocht (1941, written in Gaelic; English translation, The Poor Mouth, 1973). The best-known of his other works is The Third Policeman (written 1940, pub. 1967) which Wain (Encounter, 1967) found ‘tense, grim and threatening’, closer in tone to Beckett.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "O'Brien, Flann." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "O'Brien, Flann." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-OBrienFlann.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "O'Brien, Flann." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-OBrienFlann.html

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O'Brien, Flann

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

O'Brien, Flann (1911–66) Irish novelist, b. Brian O'Nolan. His first and most ambitious novel was At Swim-Two-Birds (1939). He wrote three other novels in English – The Hard Life (1961), The Dalkey Archive (1964), and The Third Policeman (1967) – and one in Gaelic, An Béal Bocht (1941).

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"O'Brien, Flann." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"O'Brien, Flann." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-OBrienFlann.html

"O'Brien, Flann." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-OBrienFlann.html

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