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Brian O'Nolan
Born October 5, 1911
Strabane, Ireland
Died April 1, 1966
Dublin City, Republic of Ireland
Pen name Flann O'Brien, Myles na gCopaleen
Occupation author, journalist, civil servant
Influences
Influenced

Brian O'Nolan (Irish: Brian Ó Nualláin) (October 5, 1911 – April 1, 1966) was an Irish novelist and satirist, best known for his novels An Béal Bocht, At Swim-Two-Birds and The Third Policeman written under the nom de plume Flann O'Brien. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Strabane (strəˈbæn Irish, An Srath Bán, Fair River Valley or White Strand is a Town in the west of County Tyrone and the north-west of Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity Brian O'Nolan (Brian Ó Nualláin (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966 was an Irish novelist and satirist best known for his novels An Béal Bocht, At Brian O'Nolan (Brian Ó Nualláin (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966 was an Irish novelist and satirist best known for his novels An Béal Bocht, At Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the The Mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved shorn of its religious meanings Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (born Robert Edward Wilson, January 18, 1932 &ndash January 11, 2007) was an American John Murray (born c1950 West Cumbria) is an English Writer and Novelist known for writing satirical novels on a range of subjects Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American serial drama television series. Jamie O'Neill (born 1962 in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland) is an Irish Author who lived and worked in England for two decades he now Amanda Filipacchi (born 1967 (pronounced Fili-'pah-kee is an American writer best known for her humorous inventive and controversial novels Tommy Tiernan is an Irish Comedian, Actor and Writer, born 3 November 1969 in Carndonagh, a town on the Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world An Béal Bocht ( Ir: The Poor Mouth) is a 1941 novel in Irish by Brian O'Nolan, published under the pseudonym Myles na gCopaleen At Swim-Two-Birds is a 1939 novel by Irish author Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien The Third Policeman is a novel by Irish author Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity He also wrote many satirical columns in the Irish Times under the name Myles na gCopaleen. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s.

Most of O'Nolan's writings were occasional pieces published in periodicals, which explains why his work has only recently come to enjoy the considered attention of literary scholars. O'Nolan was also notorious for his prolific use and creation of pseudonyms for much of his writing, including short stories, essays, and letters to editors, which has rendered a complete cataloging of his writings an almost impossible task -- he allegedly would write letters to the Editor of the Irish Times complaining about his own articles published in that newspaper, for example in his regular Cruiskeen Lawn column, which gave rise to rampant speculation as to whether the author of a published letter existed or not. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. Not surprisingly, little of O'Nolan's pseudonymous activity has been, or can ever be, verified.

A key feature of O'Nolan's personal situation was his status as an Irish government civil servant, who, as a result of his father's relatively early death, was obliged to support 10 siblings, including an older brother who was an unsuccessful writer. Given the desperate poverty of Ireland in the 30s to 60s, a job as a civil servant was very respected and prestigious, being both secure and pensionable with a reliable cash income in a largely agrarian economy. The Irish civil service has been, since the Irish Civil War, fairly strictly apolitical, Civil Servants above the level of clerical officer are generally prohibited from publicly expressing political views both by Civil Service Regulations and the service's internal culture. The Civil Service (An Stát-sheirbhís of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the Departments of State and certain State Agencies The Irish Civil War ( June 28 1922 &ndash May 24 1923) pitted supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty against its opponents As a practical matter, this meant that commentating in newspapers on current events was, during O'Nolan's career, generally prohibited without departmental permission on an article-by-article, publication-by-publication basis. This fact alone contributed to O'Nolan's use of pseudonyms, though he had started to create character-authors even in his pre-civil service writings. In reality, that O'Nolan was Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen was an open secret, largely disregarded by his colleagues, who found his writing very entertaining; this was a function of the makeup of the civil service, which recruited leading graduates by competitive examination -- it was an erudite and relatively liberal body in the Ireland of the 1930s to 1970s. Nonetheless, had O'Nolan forced the issue, by using one of his known pseudonyms or his own name for an article that seriously upset politicians, consequences would likely have flowed -- hence the acute pseudonym problem in attributing his work today.

Contents

Early writings

O'Nolan wrote prodigiously during his years as a student at University College Dublin where he was an active member of the well known Literary and Historical Society. University College Dublin (UCD (An Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland Dublin (An The Literary and Historical Society (L&H is University College Dublin ' s oldest debating society and the official College Debating Union He contributed to the student magazine Comhthrom Féinne (Fair Play) under various guises, in particular the pseudonym Brother Barnabas. Significantly, he composed a story during this same period entitled "Scenes in a Novel (probably posthumous) by Brother Barnabas", which anticipates many of the ideas and themes later to be found in his novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. In it, the putative author of the story finds himself in riotous conflict with his characters, who are determined to follow their own paths regardless of the author's design. For example, the villain of the story, one Carruthers McDaid, intended by the author as the lowest form of scoundrel, "meant to sink slowly to absolutely the last extremities of human degradation", instead ekes out a modest living selling cats to elderly ladies and becomes a covert churchgoer without the author's consent. Meanwhile, the story's hero, Shaun Svoolish, chooses a comfortable, bourgeois life rather than romance and heroics:

'I may be a prig', he replied, 'but I know what I like. A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and Why can't I marry Bridie and have a shot at the Civil Service?'
'Railway accidents are fortunately rare', I said finally, 'but when they happen they are horrible. Think it over. '

In 1934 O'Nolan and his student friends founded a short-lived magazine called Blather. The writing here, though clearly bearing the marks of youthful bravado, again somewhat anticipates O'Nolan's later work, in this case his Cruiskeen Lawn column as Myles na gCopaleen:

Blather is here. As we advance to make our bow, you will look in vain for signs of servility or of any evidence of a desire to please. We are an arrogant and depraved body of men. We are as proud as bantams and as vain as peacocks.
Blather doesn't care. A sardonic laugh escapes us as we bow, cruel and cynical hounds that we are. It is a terrible laugh, the laugh of lost men. Do you get the smell of porter?

Novels

Flann O'Brien novels have attracted a wide following for their bizarre humour and Modernist metafiction. Metafiction is a literary term for a type of Fiction that systematically and self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction including the relationship between fiction and At Swim-Two-Birds works entirely with borrowed (and stolen) characters from other fiction and legend, on the grounds that there are already far too many existing fictional characters, while The Third Policeman has a fantastic plot of a murderous protagonist let loose on a strange world peopled by fat policemen, played against a satire of academic debate on an eccentric philosopher, De Selby, and finds time to introduce Sergeant Pluck's atomic theory of the bicycle. At Swim-Two-Birds is a 1939 novel by Irish author Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien The Third Policeman is a novel by Irish author Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. The Dalkey Archive features a character who encounters a penitent, elderly James Joyce (who never wrote any of his books and seeks only to join the Jesuit Order) working as an assistant barman or 'curate' -- another small joke relating to Joyce's alleged priestly ambitions -- in the resort of Skerries, and a scientist (De Selby) looking to suck all of the air out of the world, and in which Policeman Pluck learns of the mollycule theory from Sergeant Fottrell. For the publishing house see Dalkey Archive Press. The Dalkey Archive is a Novel by the James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Other books by Flann O'Brien include The Hard Life (a fictional autobiography meant to be his "misterpiece"), and An Béal Bocht, (translated from the Irish as The Poor Mouth), which was a parody of Tomás Ó Criomhthain's autobiography An t-Oileánach - in English The Islander. An Béal Bocht ( Ir: The Poor Mouth) is a 1941 novel in Irish by Brian O'Nolan, published under the pseudonym Myles na gCopaleen Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. An Béal Bocht ( Ir: The Poor Mouth) is a 1941 novel in Irish by Brian O'Nolan, published under the pseudonym Myles na gCopaleen Tomás Ó Criomhthain O'Crohan (1856 &ndash 1937 was a native of the Irish -speaking Great Blasket Island

As a novelist, O'Nolan was powerfully influenced by James Joyce. Indeed, he was at pains to attend the same college as Joyce - University College Dublin, and Joyce biographer Richard Ellmann has established that O'Nolan, fully in keeping with his literary temperament, used a forged interview with Joyce's father John Joyce as part of his application. University College Dublin (UCD (An Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland Dublin (An Richard Ellmann ( March 15 1918 – May 13 1987) was a prominent American / British Literary critic and Biographer John Stanislaus Joyce ( July 4, 1849 - December 29, 1931) was the father of writer James Joyce, and a well known Dublin man He was none the less sceptical of the Cult of Joyce which overshadowed much of Irish writing, "I declare to God if I hear that name Joyce one more time I will surely froth at the gob. "

Flann O'Brien is considered a major figure in twentieth century Irish literature. For a comparatively small island Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution to World literature in all its branches The British writer Anthony Burgess was moved to say of him: "If we don't cherish the work of Flann O'Brien we are stupid fools who don't deserve to have great men. Anthony Burgess (February 25 1917 — November 22 1993 was an English Novelist, Critic, Composer, Librettist, Poet Flann O'Brien is a very great man. " Burgess included At Swim-Two-Birds on his list of 99 Great Novels. Anthony Burgess 's book Ninety-Nine Novels The Best in English since 1939 — A Personal Choice ( 1984, ISBN 0-85031-585-9 covers a 44-year span between

At Swim-Two-Birds is now recognized as one of the most significant Modernist novels before 1945. Indeed it can be seen as a pioneer of postmodernism, although the academic Keith Hopper has persuasively argued that The Third Policeman, superficially less radical, is actually a more deeply subversive and proto-postmodernist work, and as such, possibly a representation of literary nonsense. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism Literary nonsense refers to a genre of Literature, whether Poetry or Prose, that plays with conventions of language and logic through a careful balance At Swim-Two-Birds was one of the last books that James Joyce read and he praised it to O'Nolan's friends - praise which was subsequently used for years as a jacket blurb on reprints of O'Brien's novels. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the The novel has had a troubled publication history in the USA. Southern Illinois University Press has set up a Flann O'Brien Center and begun publishing all of O'Nolan's works. Southern Illinois University Press, founded in 1956 is a university press located in Carbondale, Illinois. Consequently, academic attention to the novel has increased.

O'Brien influenced the science fiction writer and conspiracy theory satirist Robert Anton Wilson, who has O'Brien's character De Selby, an obscure intellectual in The Third Policeman and The Dalkey Archive appear in his own The Widow's Son. Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (born Robert Edward Wilson, January 18, 1932 &ndash January 11, 2007) was an American In both The Third Policeman and The Widow's Son, De Selby is the subject of long pseudo-scholarly footnotes. This is fitting, because O'Brien himself made free use of characters invented by other writers, claiming that there were too many fictional characters as is. O'Brien was also known for pulling the reader's leg by concocting elaborate conspiracy theories.

Journalism

As Myles na gCopaleen (or Myles na Gopaleen), O'Nolan wrote short columns for The Irish Times, mostly in English but also in Irish, which showed a manic imagination that still astonishes. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s.

His newspaper column, called Cruiskeen Lawn (transliterated from the Irish crúiscín lán, "little full/brimming jug" (a crúisc is a jug or pitcher, the addition of ín ('een) a diminutive and lán is full)), has its origins in a series of pseudonymous letters written to The Irish Times, originally intended to mock the publication in that same newspaper of a poem, "Spraying the Potatoes", by the writer Patrick Kavanagh:

“ I am no judge of poetry — the only poem I ever wrote was produced when I was body and soul in the gilded harness of Dame Laudanum — but I think Mr Kavanaugh [sic] is on the right track here. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet news paper launched in the late 1850s. Patrick Kavanagh (Pádraig Caomhánaigh (21 October 1904 &ndash 30 November 1967 was an Irish Poet. Perhaps the Irish Times, timeless champion of our peasantry, will oblige us with a series in this strain covering such rural complexities as inflamed goat-udders, warble-pocked shorthorn, contagious abortion, non-ovoid oviducts and nervous disorders among the gentlemen who pay the rent. ”

The letters, some written by O'Nolan and some not, continued under a variety of false names, using various styles and assaulting varied topics, including other letters by the same authors. The letters were a hit with the readers of The Irish Times, and R. M. Smyllie, then editor of the newspaper, shortly invited O'Nolan to contribute a column.

The first column appeared on 4 October 1940, under the pseudonym "Myles na gCopaleen" ("Myles of the Little Horses"). Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Initially, the column was composed in Irish, but soon English was used primarily, with occasional smatterings of German, French, or Latin. The sometimes intensely satirical column's targets included the Dublin literary elite, Irish language revivalists, the Irish government, and the "Plain People of Ireland. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. " The following column excerpt, in which the author wistfully recalls a brief sojourn in Germany as a student, illustrates the biting humor and scorn that informed the Cruiskeen Lawn writings:

“ I notice these days that the Green Isle is getting greener. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Delightful ulcerations resembling buds pit the branches of our trees, clumpy daffodils can be seen on the upland lawn. Spring is coming and every decent girl is thinking of that new Spring costume. Time will run on smoother till Favonius re-inspire the frozen Meade and clothe in fresh attire the lily and rose that have nor sown nor spun. Curse it, my mind races back to my Heidelberg days. Sonya and Lili. And Magda. And Ernst Schmutz, Georg Geier, Theodor Winkleman, Efrem Zimbalist, Otto Grün. Efrem Zimbalist Sr ( 9 April, 1890 - February 22, 1985) was one of the world's most prominent concert Violinists as well as a And the accordion player Kurt Schachmann. And Doktor Oreille, descendant of Irish princes. Ich hab' mein Herz/ in Heidelberg verloren/ in einer lauen/ Sommernacht/ Ich war verliebt/ bis über beide/ Ohren/ und wie ein Röslein/hatt'/ Ihr Mund gelächt or something humpty tumpty tumpty tumpty tumpty mein Herz it schlägt am Neckarstrand. A very beautiful student melody. Beer and music and midnight swims in the Neckar. Chats in erse with Kun O'Meyer and John Marquess . . . Alas, those chimes. Und als wir nahmen/ Abschied vor den Toren/ beim letzten Küss, da hab' Ich Klar erkannt/ dass Ich mein Herz/ in Heidelberg verloren/ MEIN HERZ/ es schlägt am Neck-ar-strand! Tumpty tumpty tum.
The Plain People of Ireland: Isn't the German very like the Irish? Very guttural and so on?
Myself: Yes.
The Plain People of Ireland: People say that the German language and the Irish language is very guttural tongues.
Myself: Yes.
The Plain People of Ireland: The sounds is all guttural do you understand.
Myself. Yes.
The Plain People of Ireland: Very guttural languages the pair of them the Gaelic and the German.
”

Ó Nuallain/na gCopaleen wrote Cruiskeen Lawn for The Irish Times until the year of his death, 1966. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar.

Name translation

The name is taken from a character (Myles-na-Coppaleen) in Dion Boucicault's play The Colleen Bawn, who is the stereotypical charming Irish rogue. Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot (born December 26, circa 1820 &ndash died September 18, 1890) was an Irish Actor and Playwright The Colleen Bawn (also sometimes referred to as The Brides of Garryowen) is a Melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion

'Capall' is the Irish Gaelic word for 'horse', and 'een' (spelled 'ín' in Irish) is the diminutive used especially in female names, e. g. Róisín ("little rose") Mairín (or Maureen - "little Mary"); in the family context it is also added to distinguish the younger bearer of the name from the older, alternately beag (the word for small) may be used, and then 'een' combined with beag if the name is used even further. The prefix 'na g. . . ' is the Irish genitive, so Myles na gCopaleen means "Myles of the Little Horses". 'Copaillín' is also the Irish translation of the English word 'pony', as in the name of Ireland's most famous and ancient native horse breed, the Connemara pony. The Connemara pony is a Pony breed originating

O'Nolan himself always insisted on the translation "Myles of the Ponies", saying that he did not see why the principality of the pony should be subjugated to the imperialism of the horse.

Works

As "Myles na gCopaleen"

The Cruiskeen Lawn columns have been published in a series of collections:

As "Flann O'Brien"

See also

Further reading

External links

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