Clare Boylan (21 April 1948 – 16 May 2006) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

author, journalist and critic for newspapers, magazines and many international broadcast media.

Life and career

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1948, to Patrick and Evelyn Boylan (née Selby). Boylan began her career as a journalist at the now defunct ''

Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

''. In 1974 she won the Journalist of the Year award when working in the city for the ''

Evening Press The ''Evening Press'' was an Irish newspaper which was printed from 1954 until 1995. It was set up by Éamon de Valera's Irish Press group, and was originally edited by Douglas Gageby. Its principal competitor was the ''Evening Herald'', which ...

''. There she met her husband, fellow journalist Alan Wilkes. From 1981, she edited the glossy magazine ''Image'', before largely giving up journalism to focus on a career as an author in 1984. Her novels are ''Holy Pictures'' (1983), ''Last Resorts'' (1984), ''Black Baby'' (1988), ''Home Rule'' (1992), ''Beloved Stranger'' (1999), ''Room for a Single Lady'' (1997) - which won the Spirit of Light Award and was optioned for a film - and ''

Emma Brown ''Emma'' is the title of a manuscript by Charlotte Brontë, left incomplete when she died in 1855. A pastiche of it was written by Clare Boylan and published as ''Emma Brown'' in 2003. Original manuscript Brontë began work on ''Emma'' in 1853 ...

'' (2003). The latter work is a continuation of a 20-page fragment written by

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

before her death. Boylan's short stories are collected in ''A Nail on the Head'' (1983), ''Concerning Virgins'' (1990) and ''That Bad Woman'' (1995). The film ''Making Waves'', based on her short story "Some Retired Ladies on a Tour", was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

in 1988. Her non-fiction includes ''The Agony and the Ego'' (1994) and ''The Literary Companion to Cats'' (1994). She wrote introductions to the novels of Kate O'Brien and

Molly Keane Molly Keane (20 July 1904 – 22 April 1996),Who's Who 1987 Mary Nesta Skrine, and who also wrote as M. J. Farrell, was an Irish novelist and playwright. Early life Keane was born Mary Nesta Skrine in Ryston Cottage, Newbridge, County Kildar ...

and adapted Molly Keane's novel ''Good Behaviour'' as the classic serial for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

(2004). Boylan's work has been translated as far afield as Russia and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. Many of her writings were inspired by feminist thinking. She said of this theme that “by definition I am a woman writer because the things that interest me are the things that are most interesting to women”. Her works gained her membership to

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

. In later life, she lived in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

with her husband Alan Wilkes. She died after a lengthy struggle with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

, aged 58.

References

External links

Boylan's Estate

Boylan on WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boylan, Clare 1948 births 2006 deaths Aosdána members Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland Deaths from ovarian cancer Evening Press people Irish magazine editors Irish women editors Irish non-fiction writers Irish women non-fiction writers Irish women novelists Irish women short story writers Irish women journalists Journalists from Dublin (city) The Irish Press people 21st-century Irish non-fiction writers 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish women writers 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish short story writers 21st-century Irish short story writers Women magazine editors 20th-century Irish non-fiction writers