Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne facts for kids

Donn Byrne (born Brian Oswald Patrick Donn-Byrne, 20 November 1889 – 18 June 1928) was an Irish writer who wrote many novels.

About Donn Byrne

Donn Byrne was born in New York City in the United States. He said his Irish parents were there on a business trip. Soon after, he returned with them to Ireland. He grew up in Camlough, County Armagh. He could speak both Irish and English very well.

In 1906, when he was 14, Donn-Byrne went to a meeting of the Irish Volunteer Movement. This group was interested in Irish independence. A reporter named Robert Lynd noticed him singing there. Through a friend, Bulmer Hobson, Byrne became very interested in Irish history and culture.

He went to Trinity College Dublin in 1907. He studied languages like French and Spanish. His own writing was published in the student magazine, The National Student. After college, he continued his studies in Europe. He hoped to work for the British government. He once said he turned down a special degree because he didn't want to wear fancy clothes for an early morning exam! This story was probably just one of his fun ideas.

He came back to New York in 1911. He started working for companies that published big dictionaries and encyclopedias. In 1912, his poem "The Piper" was in Harper's magazine. His first short story, "Battle," was sold for $50. It appeared in Smart Set magazine in 1914. He sold more stories, and some were put into his first book, Stories Without Women, in 1915. Then he started writing his first novel, The Stranger's Banquet (1919). He became a very busy writer of novels and short stories. His novel Field of Honor was published after he died in 1929. His poems were also collected into a book called Poems (1934).

Even though his wife, Dorothea, was a successful writer, and he was becoming popular, Byrne had money problems. His family had to sell their house in Connecticut. They moved back to Ireland. Later, they bought Coolmain Castle in County Cork. Byrne lived there until he died in a car accident in June 1928. The car's steering broke. A local man tried to save him, but it was too late. He is buried in Rathclarin churchyard, near Coolmain Castle. His gravestone has a message in Irish and English: "I am in my sleeping and don't waken me."

Donn Byrne's Books

Some of Donn Byrne's early novels were considered just "potboilers." This means they were written quickly to make money. For example, Messer Marco Polo tells the story of the famous Italian explorer from an Irish point of view. The Wind Bloweth is a romantic story about the sea. Both books have beautiful, poetic parts mixed with everyday language.

With Blind Raftery, Byrne tried a new style. The story is about a blind poet who travels around Ireland. He tries to get revenge for his wife. The writing sometimes turns into musical poetry. A TV show based on this novel was made by the BBC in 1957.

His later novels were compared to those by another Irish writer, George Moore. These books often had romantic and historical themes. In Hangman's House, Byrne wanted to connect with old Irish storytellers. He wrote that he wanted to create "a book of Ireland for Irishmen." He also mentioned the struggles of the Irish Civil War in this novel.

Byrne loved the old, beautiful, and mythical side of Irish history. His writing often showed these images. He wanted to keep them alive. He once said in Wind, "It seemed to me that I was capturing for an instant a beauty that was dying slowly." His simple way of telling stories reminds people of ancient Irish tales like Taine Bo Cualinge. It also reminds people of old epics like the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Some of his books were published in the United Kingdom with different titles. These are noted below after the American title.

Donn Byrne's Works

Novels

• The Stranger's Banquet (1919)
• The Foolish Matrons (1920)
• Messer Marco Polo (1922)
• The Wind Bloweth (1922) (illustrated by George Bellows)
• Blind Raftery and His Wife Hilaria (1924)
• O'Malley of Shanganagh (1925), or An Untitled Story
• Hangman's House (1926)
• Brother Saul (1927)
• Crusade (1928)
• Field of Honor (1929), or The Power of the Dog
• A Party of Bacarat (1930), or The Golden Goat

Short Story Collections

• Stories Without Women (And A Few With Women) (1915)
• Changeling, and Other Stories (1923)
• Destiny Bay (1928)
• Rivers of Damascus, and Other Stories (1931)
• A Woman of the Shee, and Other Stories (1932), or Sargasso Sea, and Other Stories
• The Island of Youth, and Other Stories (1933)
• An Alley of Flashing Spears, and Other Stories (1934)
• A Daughter of the Medici, and Other Stories (1935)
• The Hound of Ireland, and Other Stories (1935)

Poetry and Travelogue

• Ireland, The Rock Whence I Was Hewn (1929)
• Poems (1934)