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Guests of the Nation Author Biography

Frank O'Connor was born in Cork, Ireland, on September 17, 1903, as Michael O'Donovan, the only son of Michael and Minnie O'Donovan. His father was a laborer whose alcoholism wreaked emotional and financial havoc on his family. As a result, O'Connor formed a strong relationship with his mother, who encouraged him to read and protected him from his father's drunken rage. O'Connor's deep love for his mother and his jealousy of the love and understanding she showed his father became the subject of many of his stories. Due to the poverty in which his family lived, O'Connor's formal education ended early; he was taken out of school at the age of fourteen to assist in supporting the family. He continued his studies on his own, focusing on literature, politics, and Gaelic language and culture. The influence of Daniel Corkery, an Irish author, nationalist, and former teacher of O'Connor's, was crucial...
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