Irish novelist and short-story writer (b. Nov. 12, 1934,
Dublin, Ire.
—d. March 30, 2006,
Dublin
), was noted for his depictions of Irish men and women constricted and damaged by the conventions of their native land, his keen observations of the human heart and of Irish society, and his accomplished, effortless style. Perhaps his most acclaimed work was BBC television series (1998).
McGahern
, himself the son of a policeman who had once been a member of the IRA, worked as a teacher while taking evening courses at University College, Dublin.
He graduated with a B.A. degree in 1957. His first published novel,
McGahern
was asked not to return to his teaching job. His later novels included
McGahern
also wrote several plays and an autobiography,
Amongst Women
(1990), which centred on a tyrannical father who was a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader.
Amongst Women
was awarded the
Irish Times
/Aer Lingus Literary Award, short-listed for the Booker Prize, and adapted into a
The Barracks
(1963), won several awards. His second,
The Dark
(1965), however, earned the wrath of Irish censors for its frank sexual portrayals, and
The Leavetaking
(1974),
The Pornographer
(1979), and
That They May Face the Rising Sun
(2002; also published as
By the Lake
). His short stories, admired for their economy of structure and original style, were collected in
Nightlines
(1970),
Getting Through
(1978),
High Ground
(1985),
The Power of Darkness
(1991), and
The Collected Stories
(1993).
Memoir
(2005; also published as
All Will Be Well
).
