Famous Irish People,
Facts on Famous Irish Writers

Famous Irish people,famous sons and daughters of Ireland,facts about them, where would you start? Compiling a list of facts about

famous Irish people in their respective categories is really the

the only way to do it so that it makes some kind of sense.

Writers have always played a very large role in the culture of Ireland.Facts are, Ireland was often referred to as 'The Land of Saints and Scholars'

and enjoys a rich tradition of great penmanship.

Four Irish people have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Withthat in mind the list starts off with some of the more famous Irish writers and there are a lot of them so this selection is subjective.

We are naturally very proud of these people in Ireland.Facts provided here about the various famous Irish people are given in no particular order of merit.

Don't take offence if your favourite author is not included.

It's quite likely that I will put together another facts list of famous Irish people and the chances are that they could be in that group. All of Ireland's famous Nobel Prize winners for literature are not include in this particular facts list. You can read the second part of this piece on famous Irish people, the writers here and if the mood takes you you can read bit on famous Irish actors here.

The list of titles beside each authors name is by no means exhaustive.

famous Irish people,facts on Kavanagh and Shaw

Ploughman and Other Poems 1936

The Green Fool 1938

The Great Hunger 1942

Tarry Flynn 1948

Come Dance with Kitty Stobling 1960

Collected Poems 1964

Kavanagh was born the son of a small farmer in Inniskeen, County Monaghan. He spent most of his life as a freelance journalist.

The Great Hunger and Tarry Flynn were in fact both banned, however they were later successfully adapted for the stage. 1954 was a bad year for Kavanagh as he sued The Leader newspaper for libel and was later diagnosed with cancer.A little known but interesting fact is that Kavanagh also penned that very famous song amongst Irish people ,'On Raglan Road'. In 1967 he married Katherine Maloney but died in Dublin later that year.

George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

The Devils Disciple 1897

John Bull's Other Island 1904

Man and Superman 1905

The Doctor's Dilemna 1906

Pygmalion 1914

Heartbreak House 1920

Saint Joan 1923

Born into a middle class,dublin,Protestant family Shaw was a particularly prolific writer and wrote on a vast range of topic ranging from politics through to vegetarianism. His play Pygmalion was the basis for the film 'My Fair Lady'.

According to the terms of his will the National Gallery of Ireland has been funded through royalties from his work. He married Charlotte Payne-Townshend in 1898. Shaw won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.In fact Shaw was also very famous for his ascerbic tongue., e.g. 'if all economists were laid end to end they would not reach a conclusion'-- 'martyrdom is the only way a man can become famous without ability' .Shaw died in 1950 near London.He would still be considered one of Ireland's most famous people.

famous Irish people, facts on Behan and McGahern

Brendan Behan 1923 - 1964

The Quare Fellow 1954

The Hostage 1957

Borstal Boy 1958

Hold Your Hour and Have Another 1963

From a Dublin working class,republican family he was sentenced to three years in borstal in 1939 for possession of explosives but was released after two years.

He was later sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in 1942 for shooting at Gardai at an I.R.A. comemmoration ceremony at Glasnevin cemetery.The Hostage, a huge international success was based on his Irish language play 'An Giall'. Behan however was hard on himself and died a young man of alcoholism and diabetes.In fact there is a famous quote about Behan by a lady called Renee McCall, I think she was a journalist,Too young to die.Too drunk to live Now I don't know in what context it was meant as I don't know what if any relationship they had. I just happen to think it's pretty succinct. Either way Behan was a big favourite with the Irish people.

John McGahern 1934 - 2006

The Barracks 1963

The Dark 1965

Amongst Women 1990

That They May Face The Rising Sun 2001

Memoir 2005

Although born in Dublin McGahern was brought up in Cootehall, County Leitrim. His first novel The barracks was released whilst he was still working as a teacher. However when the Dark was banned he was forced to retire from teaching by the powers that be. He left Ireland but returned to live in Leitrim until his death.

Amongst Women was short listed for the Booker Prize and was made into a four part series by the B.B.C. Anyone who has read his works would certainly agree that McGahern's writing should be a lot more famous than they are, although fame was not something that McGahern sought.

Oscar Wilde 1854 -1900

The Happy Prince and Other Tales 1888

The Picture of Dorian Gray 1891

Lady Windermere's fan 1892

A Woman of No Importance 1893

An Ideal husband 1895

The Importance of Being Ernest 1895

Born into a Dublin Protestant family Wilde finished his education at Trinity College,Dublin. Wilde was renowned for the ability to transfer his brilliance as a comic writer to the art of conversation. He was probably one of the most famous Irish people of all time due to his sharp wit. Massively successful in London his life came to a shuddering halt when he was convicted of 'gross indecency' for homosexual acts and he was sentenced to two years penal servitude. In prison he wrote 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol'. Wilde died in Paris.


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