John Broderick (

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

, Ireland, 30 July 1924 –

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, England, 28 May 1989) was an Irish novelist.

Biography

Broderick was born in

, Ireland, on 30 July 1924. He was the only child of the proprietors of a thriving local business, Broderick's Bakery. His father died when he was three years old. He began his secondary education at the Marist Brothers' School but at the age of 12, on his mother's remarriage to the bakery manager in 1936, he was sent to board at St Joseph's College, Garbally,

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...

. He left in 1941 without sitting the Leaving Certificate and was expected to take over the bakery business, but always intended to write. From 1951 he lived for a time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he knew some of the French and expatriate literary community, among them

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and most importantly

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. Green was a French academician, novelist and diarist, who became a mentor and personal friend. He visited Broderick in Athlone in 1974 and 1975. Broderick lived most of his life in Athlone; with his mother until her death in 1974, and alone until he moved to Bath England in 1981. He died in Bath on 28 May 1989.

Literary work

''The Irish Times'' accepted a travel article from Broderick in 1956. In the same year, the paper published the first of his book reviews. He continued to review widely and to write general articles for ''The Irish Times'' and ''Hibernia'' magazine, among others, until shortly before his death. As a critic he was frequently controversial being dismissive of a number of established writers including

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and most notably

Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024) was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. O'Brien's works often revolve around the inner feelings of women and their problems relating to men and soc ...

while he was generous and encouraging to a host of young Irish writers. His first novel, ''The Pilgrimage'' (1961) was banned by the Irish Censorship Board. Broderick was elected to membership of the Irish Academy of Letters in 1968, and in 1975 received the Academy's Annual Award for Literature. The

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

County Library system has a collection of his papers, manuscripts and other materials.

Books

Broderick's novels include: * ''The Pilgrimage'' (1961). London:

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld ...

. It was banned in Ireland by the Censorship Board and published in the United States as ''The Chameleons''. In the same year it was published in France by Editions Plon as ''Le Pélerinage''. It was reissued in France in 1991 by Editions de la Découverte and in Ireland (2004) by

The Lilliput Press The Lilliput Press is an Irish publishing house, founded in 1984 by Antony Farrell. Since its inception, Lilliput has published over 600 titles, ranging from art and architecture, autobiography and memoir, biography and history, ecology and envi ...

. * ''The Fugitives'' (1962). London:

and Paris: Editions Plon. * ''Don Juaneen'' (1963). London:

. * ''The Waking of Willie Ryan'' (1965). London:

, reissued 2004, Dublin:

. * ''An Apology for Roses'' (1973). London: Calder & Boyars. * ''The Pride of Summer'' (1976). London: Harrap. * ''London Irish'' (1979). London:

Barrie & Jenkins Barrie & Jenkins was a small British publishing house that was formed in 1964 from the merger of the companies Herbert Jenkins (founded by English writer Herbert George Jenkins) and Barrie & Rockliff (whose managing director was Leopold Ullstein ...

. * ''The Trial of Father Dillingham'' (1974). Paris: Editions Plon as ''Cité Pleine des Rêves''. (1982) London & New York:

Marion Boyars Marion Ursula Boyars, ''née'' Asmus (26 October 1927 – 1 February 1999), was a British book publisher who in 1975 founded her own imprint, Marion Boyars Publishers. Biography She was born Marion Asmus in New York, daughter of German publisher ...

. * ''A Prayer for Fair Weather'' (1984). London:

. * ''The Rose Tree'' (1985). London & New York:

. * ''The Flood'' (1987). London & New York:

. * ''The Irish Magdalen'' (1991). London:

(published posthumously).

Memorials

Since 1999, Broderick has been commemorated in a number of ways, including: * The Athlone Town Council named a street John Broderick Street * The John Broderick Committee financially supported the publication of ''Something in the Head, the Life and Works of John Broderick'', by Madeline Kingston (Lilliput 2004) and also the re-issue of ''The Pilgrimage'' and ''The Waking of Willie Ryan'' * In 2007 Lilliput also published ''Stimulus of Sin'', a selection of Broderick's non-fiction writings with some previously unpublished fiction * Literary week-ends and events to keep his memory alive have been and are being organised from time to time

Biography

Literary work

Books

Memorials

References

Further reading