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

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. 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

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. 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.

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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 Papers
at the

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* * {{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