Roddy Doyle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Roddy Doyle
Doyle in c.  2006
Born	Roderick Doyle (1958-05-08) 8 May 1958 (age 67) Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Novelist, dramatist, short story writer, screenwriter, teacher
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Subject	Working-class Dublin
Notable works	The Barrytown Trilogy, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, A Star Called Henry
Spouse	Belinda Moller (m. 1989)
Children	3

Roddy Doyle (born May 8, 1958) is a famous writer from Ireland. He writes many different kinds of stories, including novels for adults and children, plays, and movie scripts. Some of his books, like The Commitments, have even been made into movies!

Doyle's stories often take place in Dublin, especially showing the lives of everyday people. His writing is special because it uses a lot of natural-sounding conversations and Irish English. In 1993, he won a very important award called the Booker Prize for his book Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

About Roddy Doyle's Life

Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in an area called Kilbarrack. His family was a regular middle-class family.

Besides writing, Roddy Doyle also helped start a special writing center called "Fighting Words" in Dublin in 2009. It's a place where young people can go to get help and ideas for their own creative writing. He got the idea after visiting a similar project in San Francisco, USA. Roddy also cares about his local community. For example, he once joined a protest to protect a view he liked from being blocked by new barriers.

In 1989, Roddy Doyle married Belinda Moller. They have three children named Rory, Jack, and Kate.

Roddy Doyle's Education

Roddy Doyle went to University College Dublin. There, he studied English and geography and finished his degree in 1979. He then got a special diploma to become a teacher in 1980. For several years, he taught English and geography. In 1993, he decided to become a full-time writer.

Roddy Doyle's Writing Style

Roddy Doyle's books are known for having lots of conversations between characters. He doesn't use many long descriptions. His stories are mostly set in Ireland, focusing on the lives of working-class people in Dublin. He writes about everyday family life, but also about bigger topics in Irish history. You can find his original notes and workbooks at the National Library of Ireland.

Novels for Adults

Roddy Doyle wrote a popular series of three novels called The Barrytown Trilogy. These books are about the Rabbitte family. The first one is The Commitments (1987), followed by The Snapper (1990), and The Van (1991). All three of these books were made into successful movies.

• The Commitments is about a group of Dublin teenagers who start a soul music band. It was made into a movie in 1991.
• The Snapper is about Jimmy's sister, Sharon, who gets pregnant. This book was made into a movie in 1993.
• The Van was considered for the 1991 Booker Prize and became a movie in 1996.

In 1993, Doyle published Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. This book won the 1993 Booker Prize. It tells the story of the world through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy in Dublin in 1968.

Doyle also wrote The Woman Who Walked into Doors (1996). This book tells the story of a woman named Paula Spencer who faces difficult situations at home. Ten years later, her story continued in Paula Spencer (2006).

His more recent series for adults is called The Last Roundup. It follows a character named Henry Smart through many years.

• A Star Called Henry (1999) is the first book. It tells about Henry Smart's life, from being born in Dublin to becoming a father and a fighter in the 1916 Easter Rebellion.
• Oh, Play That Thing! (2004) continues Henry's adventures in America in 1924. He meets famous people like Louis Armstrong.
• In the last book, The Dead Republic (2010), Henry helps write a Hollywood movie script. He later returns to Ireland.

Roddy Doyle often shares short, funny conversations on his Facebook page. These conversations are usually between two older men in a pub, talking about current events. These became a short book called Two Pints (2012). Other recent books include The Guts (2013), which continues the story of Jimmy Rabbitte from the Barrytown Trilogy, and Two More Pints (2014).

Novels for Children

Roddy Doyle has written many books especially for children. He wrote the "Rover Adventures" series, which includes:

• The Giggler Treatment (2000)
• Rover Saves Christmas (2001)
• The Meanwhile Adventures (2004)

Other children's books by him are:

• Wilderness (2007)
• Her Mother's Face (2008)
• A Greyhound of a Girl (2011)

Plays, Screenplays, and Short Stories

Roddy Doyle has also written many plays and screenplays (scripts for movies or TV shows).

• His plays include Brownbread (1987) and War (1989). He also wrote a play based on his novel The Woman Who Walked into Doors (2003).
• He wrote the TV screenplay for Family (1994), which was a TV series.
• He also wrote the movie script for When Brendan Met Trudy (2000), a romantic comedy about a shy teacher and a free-spirited thief.

Doyle has written many short stories. Some of them have been published in The New Yorker magazine. These stories have also been collected into books like The Deportees and Other Stories (2007) and Bullfighting (2011). His short story "New Boy" was made into a short film in 2008 that was nominated for an Academy Award.

In 2002, he wrote a non-fiction book called Rory and Ita. This book is about his parents and is based on interviews he did with them.

His novel The Commitments was turned into a musical by Roddy Doyle himself. It started showing in London's West End in 2013.

In 2017, his play Two Pints was performed in pubs and later in a theater. In 2018, the Gate Theatre asked him to adapt The Snapper for the stage, which was very popular.

Awards and Recognitions

Roddy Doyle has received many awards for his writing:

• 1991: His novel The Van was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
• 1991: Won a BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Commitments.
• 1993: Won the Booker Prize for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.
• 2003: Became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
• 2009: Won the Irish PEN Award.
• 2011: Won the French Literary Award ("Prix Littéraire des Jeunes Européens") for The Snapper.
• 2013: Won the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards (Novel of the Year) for The Guts.
• 2015: Received an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree from the University of Dundee.
• 2021: Shortlisted for the Dalkey Literary Awards.

See also

In Spanish: Roddy Doyle para niños