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Brian O'Nolan

ブライアン・オノーラン

Brian O'Nolan

Aliases: Brian Ó Nualláin
Pen Names: Flann O'Brien（Pen name for English novels）, Myles na gCopaleen（Pen name for newspaper columns）, Brother Barnabas（Pen name for student magazine）, George Knowall（Pen name for local newspaper column）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1911-10-05 （Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland）
Died
1966-04-01 （Dublin, Ireland） age 54
Nationality
Irish
Languages
English, Irish
Religion
Catholic
Residence History
Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland → Dublin, Ireland

Career

Occupations
Civil servant, Novelist, Playwright, Satirist
Active Years
1939-1966
Affiliations
Department of Local Government
Memberships
Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)
Influenced By
James Joyce
Influenced
Robert Anton Wilson

Education

Synge Street Christian Brothers School
Period: 少年期
Country: Ireland
Semi-autobiographical depiction in The Hard Life
Blackrock College
Period: 二次教育期
Country: Ireland
Taught English by John Charles McQuaid
University College Dublin
Literary and Historical Society
Period: 1930年代
Country: Ireland
Founded literary magazine Blather

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

At Swim-Two-Birds

1939 Metafiction, Satire

A modernist novel featuring characters from other fictions rebelling against their author.

MetafictionSatireIrish mythology

The Third Policeman

1940 Satire, Fantasy

A murderer enters a bizarre world with policemen and satire on philosopher De Selby.

Atomic theoryBicyclePhilosophical parody

An Béal Bocht

1941 Parody novel

Irish-language parody of poverty memoirs.

Parody of Irish language revivalPoverty

The Hard Life

1961 Semi-autobiographical novel

Fictional autobiography of schooldays.

EducationCatholic schools

The Dalkey Archive

1964 Satire, Fantasy

Satirical novel featuring a Joyce-like figure.

Scientific parodyReligion
Adaptations
  • [Stage] The Saints Go Cycling In / Hugh Leonard (1965)

Bibliography

  • At Swim-Two-Birds
  • The Third Policeman
  • An Béal Bocht
  • The Hard Life
  • The Dalkey Archive
  • Slattery's Sago Saga

Adaptations

  • The Dalkey Archive stage adaptation

Translations of Works

  • The Poor Mouth (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Unconventional humourMetafictionSatire
Recurring Motifs
De Selby philosophyBicycle atomic theoryIrish civil service life

Health

  • Alcoholism
    生涯の多く
    Led to health decline and forced retirement
  • Throat cancer
    晩年
    Underwent X-ray treatment, contributed to death
  • Heart attack
    1966年
    Cause of death

Legacy

Major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature, key in modernist and postmodernism, known for satirical columns.

Academic Societies

  • International Flann O'Brien Society

Archives

  • Harry Ransom Center
  • Southern Illinois University
  • Boston College

In Popular Culture

  • 2012 Google Doodle
  • 2011 Irish postage stamp
  • Bronze sculpture outside Palace Bar, Dublin

Quotes

  • I declare to God if I hear that name Joyce one more time I will surely froth at the gob.
    Source: Reported statement
  • Blather is here. As we advance to make our bow, you will look in vain for signs of servility... We are an arrogant and depraved body of men.
    Source: Blather magazine (1934)

Trivia

  • Third of 12 children
  • Father was customs official with frequent moves
  • Used pseudonyms extensively during civil service
  • Died on April 1, 1966 (April Fool's Day)