Bryan Michael MacMahon (29 September 1909 – 13 February 1998) was an Irish

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

and children's book

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

from

Listowel Listowel ( ; , ) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. A schoolteacher by training, his works include ''The Lion Tamer, Patsy-o and his Wonderful Pets'' and ''The Red Petticoat''. He wrote an autobiography, ''The Master'', and his works include an English translation of ''Peig'', the

Irish-language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenou ...

autobiography of '' Peig Sayers''.

Early life and education

MacMahon was born on 29 September 1909 to parents Patrick and Joanna MacMahon, in

. He was one of four children, his father was a clerk in a law office, a butter-buyer and exporter, and his mother was a schoolteacher. His father was also a member of the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

. He had a traditional country up-bringing, which he illustrated in the first chapters of ''The Storyman'' (1994). He learned his love for the Irish language from his grandmother, who was a native Irish speaker. His grandfather was weighmaster in charge of the market and Bryan assisted him often. He was educated in Scoil Réalta na Maidine, Lios Tuathail, and then St Michael's College, Listowel, where he was influenced by the writer Seamus Wilmot, who encouraged him in his passion for writing. Like his mother, he also had a passion for teaching. He attended St. Patrick's Teacher Training College in Drumcondra, County Dublin. After this, he taught in Donore Avenue, off South Circular Road in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Due to family pressures, he resigned from his teaching post in Dublin in 1931 and returned to Listowel, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He became principal teacher of Scoil Réalta na Maidine and taught there for 44 years. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, MacMahon worked in factories in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He wrote about this experience in his 'Plain People of England' column for ''The Bell'' magazine. He opened a book shop in his wife Kitty's name on the main street of Listowel.

Family

MacMahon married his wife Kathleen "Kitty" Ryan in 1936. Kathleen was born on 14 June 1911 in Cashel, County Tipperary, to parents James Ryan and Ellen Ryan (née O’Connor). MacMahon and Ryan were married in the Roman Catholic Church of Cashel on 4 November 1936. They had five sons, including Bryan, a judge of the Irish High Court, and Garry, who played

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

for the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1958 to 1962 and went on to practice law. One of his other sons, Owen, is a solicitor with PG MacMahon Solicitors.

Later life

During his later years, MacMahon paid more attention to the media while continuing to publish. Together with John B. Keane as well as other Irish playwrights, he founded '' Listowel Writers' Week'' in 1970, an international literacy festival based in MacMahon's home town of

. In 1989, MacMahon featured on ''The Late Late Show'', with Gay Byrne. MacMahon published his first autobiography, ''The Master'', in 1992, which documented his career in teaching. The book went on to win the 1993 ''The'' ''American Ireland Literary Award''''.'' MacMahon released a second autobiography in 1994, ''The'' ''Storyman'', which focused primarily on his career as a writer. Throughout his career, MacMahon was awarded many accolades for his contributions to Irish literature including the ''Kerryman of the Year'' award in 1987. He also was awarded ''American Ireland Fund Literary Award'' 1993 and the award of the degree of LID from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

in recognition of his work. MacMahon was a member of the Aosdána. MacMahon's final book, a collection of fictional conversations between men and women, is entitled ''A Final Fling,'' and was published in 1998. MacMahon died on the 13 February 1998, in

Beaumont Hospital, Dublin Beaumont Hospital () is a large teaching hospital located in Beaumont, Dublin, Ireland. It is managed by RCSI Hospitals - one of the hospital groups established by the Health Service Executive. Its academic partner is the Royal College of Su ...

. After his death, his colleague John B. Keane said: "The streets have lost their star. He was a giant and a gentleman, and we were lucky to have had him for so long."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmahon, Bryan 1909 births 1998 deaths Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish schoolteachers Irish male short story writers Irish translators People from Listowel, County Kerry Translators from Irish Translators to English 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish novelists Irish male novelists 20th-century Irish translators 20th-century Irish short story writers Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Writers from County Kerry