Flann O'Brien facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Flann O’Brien

Born	Brian O'Nolan (1911-10-05)5 October 1911 Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland
Died	1 April 1966(1966-04-01) (aged 54) Dublin, Ireland
Resting place	Deans Grange Cemetery, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
Pen name	Flann O'Brien Myles na Gopaleen Brother Barnabas George Knowall
Occupation	Civil servant, writer
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Genre	Metafiction, satire
Notable works	At Swim-Two-Birds The Third Policeman An Béal Bocht The Dalkey Archive "Cruiskeen Lawn" column
Spouse	Evelyn McDonnell (1948–1966)
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Brian O'Nolan (Irish: Brian Ó Nualláin; born October 5, 1911 – died April 1, 1966) was an Irish government official, writer, and satirist. He is best known by his writing names Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen. Many people now see him as a very important writer in 20th-century Irish literature.

Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland, he is considered a key figure in modernist and postmodern literature. His English novels, like At Swim-Two-Birds and The Third Policeman, were written as Flann O'Brien. He wrote many funny articles in The Irish Times newspaper and an Irish-language novel, An Béal Bocht, using the name Myles na gCopaleen.

O'Brien's books are popular because of their unusual humor and how they play with storytelling ideas. He was influenced by writer James Joyce. However, O'Brien also made jokes about how much people admired Joyce.

About Flann O'Brien

His Family and Early Life

Brian O'Nolan's father, Michael Vincent O'Nolan, worked for the customs service before Ireland became independent. His job meant the family moved often between cities in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Even though he had strong Irish nationalist beliefs, he had to keep them quiet because of his job. When the Irish Free State was formed in 1921, his father joined the Irish Revenue Commissioners.

Brian was the third of 12 children. His mother, Agnes, was also from a nationalist family in Strabane. This town was a kind of home base for the family during their many moves. For some time, the O'Nolan children were taught at home using lessons their father sent them. They only went to school regularly when their father was permanently based in Dublin.

School Days

O'Brien first went to Synge Street Christian Brothers School. His novel The Hard Life shares some of his experiences there. Later, he attended Blackrock College, which was run by the Holy Ghost Fathers. This school was known for being more academic. Many important leaders of independent Ireland studied at Blackrock College.

Student Years and Early Writing

O'Brien wrote a lot when he was a student at University College Dublin (UCD). He was very active in the Literary and Historical Society. He wrote for the student magazine Irish: Comhthrom Féinne (meaning Fair Play) using different names, especially Brother Barnabas.

During this time, he wrote a story called "Scenes in a Novel (probably posthumous) by Brother Barnabas." This story showed many ideas that would appear in his later novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. In it, the writer of the story argues with his own characters, who want to do their own thing instead of following his plans. For example, a bad guy meant to become very poor instead starts selling cats and secretly goes to church. The hero chooses a quiet, normal life instead of adventures.

In 1934, O'Brien and his friends started a short-lived magazine called Blather. Its writing was bold and funny, much like his later newspaper column "Cruiskeen Lawn."

Working for the Government

A big part of O'Brien's life was his job as an Irish civil servant. After his father died in 1937, he had to help support his mother and ten brothers and sisters for about ten years. In the 1930s to 1960s, a government job was seen as very good because it was secure and paid well.

The Irish civil service was, and still is, mostly non-political. This meant that government workers were usually not allowed to write publicly about political topics without special permission. This is one reason why O'Brien used different names for his writing.

O'Brien became quite senior in his job. He worked as a private secretary for important politicians like Seán T. O'Kelly (who later became President of Ireland). Even though O'Brien often made fun of the civil service in his writing, he was respected and trusted with important tasks. For example, he helped plan a new Irish National Health Service.

It was an open secret that Brian O'Nolan was Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen. His colleagues found his writing very entertaining and usually didn't mind. The civil service had many smart, educated people. However, if O'Nolan had written something very upsetting to politicians under one of his known names, there might have been problems. This is why it's sometimes hard to know for sure which writings are his today.

Personal Life

Brian O'Nolan was a well-known person in Dublin. In 1935, he joined the Department of Local Government. After his father's death in 1937, he helped support his family. On December 2, 1948, he married Evelyn McDonnell, who also worked in the Department of Local Government. They did not have any children.

Health and Passing

O'Brien suffered from throat cancer. He passed away from a heart attack on the morning of April 1, 1966.

His Journalism and Other Writings

From late 1940 to early 1966, O'Brien wrote short articles for The Irish Times newspaper. These were called "Cruiskeen Lawn" and he used the name Myles na gCopaleen (later Myles na Gopaleen). At first, the articles were in Irish, then he wrote them in both Irish and English. By 1953, he mostly wrote in English.

The Irish Times often publishes many letters from readers. O'Brien sometimes wrote a series of letters under different fake names, discussing various topics, even arguing with his own earlier letters! Readers loved these letters. The newspaper's editor, R. M. Smyllie, asked O'Brien to write a regular column.

The newspaper pretended that three different people wrote the "Cruiskeen Lawn" column. This helped O'Nolan, as a civil servant, when a column was very bold. The managing editor, Gerard "Cully" Tynan O'Mahony, was a friend of O'Brien and likely one of the other occasional writers. He was good at avoiding questions about who wrote the column.

The first column appeared on October 4, 1940, under the name "An Broc" ("The Badger"). After that, he always used "Myles na gCopaleen" ("Myles of the Little Horses" or "Myles of the Ponies"). This name came from a character in an old play. The columns were often very funny and made fun of Dublin writers, people trying to bring back the Irish language, the Irish government, and even "the Plain People of Ireland."

O'Nolan wrote "Cruiskeen Lawn" for The Irish Times until the year he died, 1966.

He also wrote for other magazines like Envoy and The Bell. He was part of a group of writers and artists who met in Dublin pubs. He also wrote a column called Bones of Contention for The Nationalist and Leinster Times using the name George Knowall.

O'Brien was famous for using many different fake names for his stories, essays, and letters to editors. This makes it very hard to find all of his writings today. He enjoyed writing letters to newspapers under different fake names, sometimes even arguing with his own articles! This made people wonder who was really writing these letters. There is also a guess that he wrote some detective novels about a character called Sexton Blake under the name Stephen Blakesley. He might also have written science fiction under the name John Shamus O’Donnell.

Meaning of His Names

O'Brien's newspaper name, Myles na gCopaleen, comes from a character in a play called The Colleen Bawn. This character is a charming Irish trickster. In the play, he sings an old song called "An Crúiscín Lán," which is where the name of O'Brien's column, "Cruiskeen Lawn," comes from.

Capall is the Irish word for "horse," and ín is a small ending, like saying "little." So, Myles na gCopaleen means "Myles of the Little Horses." Capaillín is also the Irish word for "pony," like the famous Connemara pony. O'Brien himself always said it meant "Myles of the Ponies."

His Fiction Books

At Swim-Two-Birds

At Swim-Two-Birds is a very unique book. It uses characters from other stories and legends, as if there are already too many made-up characters in the world.

This book is seen as one of the most important modernist novels before 1945. It even helped start postmodernism, a style of writing that questions traditional storytelling. James Joyce read this book and praised it, which helped O'Brien's books become more well-known.

The book was also praised by famous writers like Graham Greene and Jorge Luis Borges. The British writer Anthony Burgess called O'Brien "a very great man" and included At Swim-Two-Birds on his list of the best English novels since 1939.

The Third Policeman and The Dalkey Archive

When publishers rejected The Third Policeman during his lifetime, it affected O'Brien deeply. This might be why parts of The Third Policeman appear almost word-for-word in his later book, The Dalkey Archive.

The Third Policeman has a wild story about a main character who commits a crime and ends up in a strange world with unusual policemen. It also makes fun of academic discussions about an odd philosopher named De Selby. One policeman, Sergeant Pluck, explains a funny "atomic theory of the bicycle."

The Dalkey Archive features a character who meets an older, strange James Joyce. In this book, Joyce acts like he hasn't written much and doesn't even remember writing his famous book Finnegans Wake. He works as a bar assistant. In this story, a scientist named De Selby tries to remove all the air from the world. The Dalkey Archive was made into a play in 1965.

Other Fiction Works

Other books by O'Brien include An Béal Bocht (translated as The Poor Mouth), which makes fun of an Irish autobiography. He also wrote The Hard Life, a fictional autobiography. As mentioned, he might have written some of the Sexton Blake detective novels under a fake name.

O'Brien's plays were not very successful. Faustus Kelly, a play about a local politician making a bad deal for a seat in parliament, only ran for 11 shows in 1943. Another play, Rhapsody in Stephen's Green, used insects to make fun of society. It also closed quickly, possibly because it caused some controversy. This play was thought to be lost but was found again in 1994.

In 1956, O'Brien helped produce a show for RTÉ, the Irish broadcaster, called 3 Radio Ballets. This was a dance performance made to be heard on the radio.

His Legacy

Blue plaque for O'Brien at Bowling Green, Strabane

O'Brien influenced the science fiction writer Robert Anton Wilson. Wilson used O'Brien's character De Selby in his own book, The Widow's Son. This fits well, as O'Brien himself liked to use characters invented by other writers. O'Brien was also known for making up funny, fake conspiracy theories to trick readers.

In 2011, a big conference called '100 Myles' was held to celebrate 100 years since his birth. This led to the creation of 'The International Flann O'Brien Society' (IFOBS). This group gives awards for books and articles about O'Brien every year. In October 2011, Trinity College Dublin also celebrated his 100th birthday. A special 55-cent stamp with his portrait was issued. A bronze statue of O'Brien stands outside the Palace Bar in Dublin.

Some people have even called O'Brien a "scientific prophet" because of his writings on topics like thermodynamics and atomic theory. In 2012, on his 101st birthday, O'Brien was honored with a special Google Doodle. His life and works were also celebrated on BBC Radio 4's Great Lives in 2017.

List of Principal Works

Novels

At Swim-Two-Birds (1939)
The Third Policeman (written 1939–1940, published after his death in 1967)
An Béal Bocht (credited to Myles na gCopaleen, 1941, translated as The Poor Mouth 1973)
The Hard Life (1961)
The Dalkey Archive (1964)
Slattery's Sago Saga (an unfinished novel, published in collections after his death)

Selected Newspaper Columns

His most famous newspaper column, "Cruiskeen Lawn," appeared regularly in the Irish Times from 1940 to 1966. It was first credited to Myles na gCopaleen, then Myles na Gopaleen. Parts of this column have been published in four collections:

The Best of Myles (1968)
Further Cuttings from Cruiskeen Lawn (1976)
The Hair of the Dogma (1977)
Flann O'Brien at War: Myles na gCopaleen 1940–1945 (1999)

O'Brien also wrote a column called "Bones of Contention" under the name George Knowall. Selections from this have been published as:

Myles Away from Dublin (1985)

Other Collections

A Bash in the Tunnel (O'Brien's essay on James Joyce, 1970)
Stories and Plays (1973), includes Slattery’s Sago Saga and plays
The Various Lives of Keats and Chapman and The Brother (1976)
Myles Before Myles (1985), early writings by Brian O’Nolan
Rhapsody in St Stephen's Green (play, 1994)
The Short Fiction of Flann O’Brien (2013), includes short stories
Plays & Teleplays (2013)

Correspondence

The Collected Letters of Flann O’Brien (2018)

Flann O'Brien Studies

Since 2012, The International Flann O’Brien Society has published a journal called The Parish Review: Journal of Flann O'Brien Studies.

Images for kids

Grave of Brian O'Nolan/Brian Ó Nualláin, his parents and his wife, Deans Grange Cemetery, Dublin