John Weldon (6 September 1890 – 4 February 1963; alternatively "A. E. Weldon"), known by his pen- and stage-name Brinsley MacNamara, was an Irish writer, playwright, and the registrar of the
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another o ...
. He is the author of several novels, the most well-known of which was his first, ''
The Valley of the Squinting Windows
''The Valley of the Squinting Windows'' is a 1918 novel by Brinsley MacNamara (born John Weldon), set in the fictional village of Garradrimna, in central Ireland.
Setting
While MacNamara insisted that Garradrimna could represent any village in ...
'' (1918). His acting career with the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
began in September 1910 with a role in R. J. Ryan's ''The Casting-out of Martin Whelan''.
MacNamara is still best known for his first novel, ''The Valley of the Squinting Windows'', set in a fictional village called Garradrimna, which caused a furore in his native Westmeath on its publication. He continued to write for many years after this controversial first work, and located most of his later fiction in Garradrimna, in the Irish Midlands. Among his plays are ''The Glorious Uncertainty'' (1923) and ''Look at the Heffernans!'' (1926). His work was part of the
literature event in the
art competition at the
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...
.
MacNamara married Helena Degidon, a schoolteacher, in 1920. He died at his home on Gilford Drive in
Sandymount
Sandymount () is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland.
Etymology
An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill. ,
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
in February 1963.
Partial list of works
* ''The Valley of the Squinting Windows'', novel (1918)
* ''In Clay and in Bronze'', novel (1919/1920), published as ''The Irishman: A Novel'' under another pseudonym, Oliver Blyth.
* ''The Clanking of Chains: A Story of Sinn Fein'', novel (1919)
* ''The Mirror in the Dusk'', novel (1921)
* ''The Glorious Uncertainty'', play (1923)
* ''Look at the Heffernans!'', play (1926)
* ''The Various Lives of Marcus Igoe'', novel (1929)
* ''The Smiling Faces, and other stories'', short stories (1929)
* ''Return to Ebontheever'', novel (1930), reissued as ''Othello's Daughter'' (1942)
* ''Margaret Gillan'', play (1933)
* ''Marks and Mabel'', play (1945)
* ''Some Curious People'', short stories (1945)
* ''Michael Caravan'', novel (1946)
* ''The Whole Story of the X.Y.Z.'', novella (1951)
References
External links
Brinsley MacNamara Papersat the
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pu ...
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macnamara, Brinsley
1890 births
1963 deaths
Burials at Deans Grange Cemetery
People from County Westmeath
People from County Dublin
Irish male novelists
20th-century Irish novelists
20th-century male writers
Olympic competitors in art competitions