John B. Keane

John B Keane was born in Listowel, Co Kerry in 1928. He published forty-six works, but is best known for his plays which inlcude Sive; Sharon’s Grave; The Man from Clare; The Year of the Hiker; The Field (which was adapted as a film of the same name); Many Young Men of Twenty; Big Maggie; Moll; The Crazy Wall; The Buds of Ballybunion; The Chastitute; and Faoiseamh.

His novels are The Bodhran Makers; Durango; The Contractors; A High Meadow.

He has published many books of humourous essays and letters, including Letters of a T.D.; Love Bites, and Owl Sandwiches. He has published one book in Irish, Dan Pheadí Aíndí. His biography is Man of the Triple Name.

He is a former president of Irish P.E.N., an Honorary Life Member of the Royal Dublin Society, a D.Litt (hon.causa) Trinity College Dublin; Hon. Doc. Fine Arts, Marymount Manhattan College. A founder member of the Society of Irish Playwrights, he was a member of Aosdána. He lived in Listowel, Co Kerry, and died in May 2002.

Bryan MacMahon

Bryan MacMahon was born in Listowel, Co Kerry in 1909.

He has written novels, short stories, pageants, radio features, plays and television scripts.

His plays include The Bugle in the Blood (Dublin, The Abbey Theatre, 1949); The Song of the Anvil (The Abbey Theatre, 1960); The Honey Spike (The Abbey Theatre, 1961); The Master; Jack Furey; The Death of Biddy Early; The Time of the Whitethorn and The Gap of Life.

His novels include Children of the Rainbow (New York, E. P. Dutton 1952/London and Toronto, Macmillan 1952); The Honey Spike (London, The Bodley Head, 1967); and posthumously, Hero Town (Tralee, Brandon, 2005).

His collected stories include The Lion-Tamer And Other Stories (Toronto, Macmillan, 1948/New York, Dutton, 1949): Red Petticoat (Macmillan, 1955/New York, E. P. Dutton & Co, 1955) and The Sound of Hooves (London, Bodley Head.1985).

His other work includes his autobiography The Master (Dublin, Poolebeg, 1992), The Talleystick ( Poolebeg, 1994); and A Final Fling (Poolbeg, 1998).

A teacher all his life, he also wrote stories for children, including Jack O’Moora, and the King of Ireland’s Son (New York, E. P. Dutton 1950); Brendan of Ireland (London, Methuen, 1965/New York, Hastings House, 1967); Patsy-O and his Wonderful Pets ( E. P. Dutton, 1970); and Mascot Patsy-O (Dublin: Poolbeg, 1992);

He is also well-known as the translator of Peig: The Autobiography of Peig Sayers of the Great Blasket Island (Dublin, Talbot, 1974).

Amongst his awards are LL.D (hon.causa) National University of Ireland (1972). He was President of Irish P.E.N. and a committee member of the Academy of Irish Letters.

Also a member of Aosdána, he died in 1998.

Gabriel Fitzmaurice

Gabriel Fitzmaurice was born in Moyvane, Co Kerry, in 1952.

A former Chair and Literary Advisor of Writers’ Week, the Writers' Conference in Listowel, Co. Kerry, he is author of more than twenty books, including poetry in English and Irish, children’s verse in English and Irish, translations from the Irish, essays, and collections of songs and ballads.

His poetry collections in English include Rainsong (Dublin, Beaver Row Press, 1984); The Space Between: New and Selected Poems 1984-92 (Gallimh, Cló Iar-Chonnachta Teo, 1993); The Wrenboy’s Carnival: Poems 1980-2000 (Dublin, Merlin Publishing, 2000);and The Boghole Boys, with an introduction by Bernard O’Donoghue (Cork, Mercier Press, 2005).

He has edited The World of Bryan MacMahon: Essays from the Bryan MacMahon Symposium (Mercier Press, 2005); Come All Good Men and True: Essays from the John B. Keane Symposium (Mercier Press); and various anthologies, including, with Declan Kiberd, Flowering Tree: Contemporary Poetry in Irish with Verse Translations (Merlin Publishing, 1991); Irish Poetry Now: Other Voices (Merlin Publishing, 1993); and The Kerry Anthology (Mercier Press, 2000).

His work for children includes But Dad! (Dublin, Poolbeg, 1995); Puppy and the Sausage (Poolbeg, 1998); Dear Grandad (Poolbeg, 2001); and A Giant Never Dies (Poolbeg, 2002).

An award winner at the Gerard Manley Hopkins Centenary Poetry Competition, he has twice represented Ireland at the European Festival of Poetry in Louvain, Belgium. A musician and singer, he has played and sung on a number of albums of Irish traditional music. He frequently broadcasts on Irish radio and television and local radio stations on education and the arts. He lives in Moyvane.

Brendan Kennelly

Brendan Kennelly was born in Co Kerry in 1936. He was born in Ballylongford, Co Kerry and was educated at the inter-denominational St. Ita's College, Tarbert, Co. Kerry, and at Trinity College, where he edited Icarus. Kennelly graduated from Trinity and wrote his PhD thesis there. He also studied at Leeds University.

He has published over twenty books, such as My Dark Fathers (1964); Up and At It (1965); A Time for Voices: Selected Poems 1960-1990 (Bloodaxe Books, 1990); The Book of Judas (Bloodaxe Books, 1991); Poetry Me Arse (Bloodaxe Books, 1995); The Man Made of Rain (Bloodaxe Books, 1998) and Glimpses (Bloodaxe Books, 2001). He edited The Penguin Book of Irish Verse (Penguin Books, London, 1970).

He is Professor of Modern Literature at Trinity College Dublin.

Thomas MacGreevy

Thomas MacGreevy was born in 1893 and spent his formative years in Tarbert, Co. Kerry

His poetry collections include Poems (London, Heinemann, 1934 [ reprinted New York, The Viking Press, 1934]); Collected Poems edited by Thomas Dillon Redshaw (Dublin, New Writers Press, 1971, foreword by Samuel Beckett [reissued by the Belaqua Series, an imprint of Raven Arts Press, in association with New Writers Press, Dublin 1983]); and Collected Poems of Thomas MacGreevy: An Annotated Edition edited by Susan Schreibman (Dublin, Anna Livia Press, 1991, Washington DC, The Catholic University of America Press, 1991).

His critical work includes Richard Aldington: An Englishman (London, Chatto & Windus, 1931) and TS Eliot: A Study (London, Chatto & Windus, 1931).

He also wrote significant works on art history, and was Director of the National Gallery of Ireland from 1950 to 1963. His many honours include Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Lègion d’Honneur (1948), Officier de la Lègion d’Honneur (1962) and an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the National University of Ireland (1962).

He died in Dublin in 1967.

Maurice Walsh

Maurice Walsh Walsh was born in 1879 in Lisselton near Listowel, Co. Kerry. (1879-1964) He was an Irish novelist best known for the short story The Quiet Man which was later made into a Oscar nominated movie directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

The Quiet Man was first published in American magazine The Saturday Evening Post on the 11th of February 1933. He had named the lead character Sean Kelvin. In August 1933 it was published in Chambers Magazine in Ireland.

He sold the film rights to The Quiet Man to John Ford on 23rd february 1936. It only made him six thousand dollars, although the resulting film grossed millions.

Maurice Walsh, very popular Irish author in the 1930's. Worked some time as a gamekeeper in the Scottish Highlands consequently many of his books are set in Scottland but include many Irish characters. Many of his stories are set in Scotland and Ireland in that wonderful period between the two wars. Full of fun, fights, good humour, love and mystery.

George Fitzmaurice

George Fitzmaurice was born in 1877 in the family home, Bedford House, just outside Listowel. He moved to Dublin where he was employed by the Civil Service. His earliest writings were published in Dublin weeklies between 1900 and 1907. His works were later published by the Dolmen Press under the titles Dramatic Fantasies (1967) and Plays (1969). Following his death, his play, 'The Enchanted Land', was produced posthumously by the Abbey Theatre in 1976.

George Fitzmaurice also fought in World War One and he died in Dublin, in 1963, at the age of 86.