Desmond J. MacNamara (10 May 1918 – 8 January 2008) was an Irish sculptor, painter, stage and art designer and novelist. MacNamara was born in Mount Street,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. After graduating from

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 students ...

and the National College of Art in Dublin in the early 1940s, he found a place as stage designer and prop maker for 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 ...

and at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlainn ...

in Dublin, working with the legendary duo

Michael Macliammoir Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and

Hilton Edwards Hilton Edwards (2 February 1903 – 18 November 1982) was an English-born Irish actor, lighting designer and theatrical producer. He co-founded the Gate Theatre with his partner Micheál Mac Liammóir and two others, and has been referred to as ...

. He was an uncredited art designer on

Henry V (1944 film) ''Henry V'' is a 1944 British Technicolor epic film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V (play), play of the same title. The on-screen title is ''The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in Fran ...

. He also designed book jackets for his friends: Flann O'Brien's ''The Dalkey Archive'' and Dominic Behan's ''The Public World of Parable Jones.'' MacNamara's sculptures are on display in the National Art Gallery of Ireland and at the Dublin Writers Museum. In the 1940s and early 1950s, he and his first wife ran what evolved into a literary salon on Dublin's Grafton Street, including John Ryan, Anthony Cronin, J. P. Donleavy, Brendan Behan, Carolyn Swift, Dan O'Herlihy, Patrick Kavanagh, Erwin Schrodinger and Gainor Crist who was the model for the protagonist in ''The Ginger Man'', . Major memoirs of the period cite MacNamara as a pivotal figure in Dublin's cultural underground. This post-war Dublin bohemian scene was immortalized in Donleavy's novel, ''

The Ginger Man ''The Ginger Man'' is a novel, first published in Paris in 1955, by J. P. Donleavy. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland, in post-war 1947. Upon its publication, it was banned both in Ireland and the United States of America by reason of obsce ...

'', where MacNamara appears as MacDoon, the Kangaroo-suited artist.

"Small dancing figure. It is said his eyes are like the crown jewels. A sharp red beard on his chin. A Leprauchaun for sure. Can't speak too loudly to Mac, else he might blow away."

In the early 1950s, after a fire at the Abbey Theater, MacNamara moved to London. There he married his second wife, Priscilla Novy, a film studio script reader and children's novelist. They settled in West Hampstead and raised two sons, Oengus, an actor, and Oisin, an academic. He taught art at the Marylebone Institute, contributed reviews to the

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

and other periodicals, and published books on picture framing, the artistic uses of papier-mache, and on puppetry. Upon retirement from teaching, he added a biography of

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

, aimed at young readers, and two seriocomic works of fiction. ''The Book of Intrusions'' (Dalkey Archive Press, 1994), which the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' critic called a "magnificent novel", appeared in 1994. MacNamara's final work of fiction was ''Confessions of an Irish Werewolf'' (2006).Salma Salman, "Myths and Superstitions: Desmond MacNamara's Irish Werewolf", ''Dawn'' 6 August 2006. He died in Hampstead, aged 89.

Bibliography

*''Confessions of an Irish Werewolf'' (2006) *''The Book of Intrusions'' (1994) *''Eamon de Velera'' (1988) *''Picture Framing: A Practical Guide from Basic to Baroque'' (1986) *''Puppetry'' (1966) *''New Art of Papier-Mache'' (1963)

References

External links

Dalkeyarchive.comJstor.orgGuardian.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacNamara, Desmond 1918 births 2008 deaths Artists from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish sculptors Male sculptors 20th-century male artists Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of the National College of Art and Design