Dave Duggan (born 1955, London, England) is an Irish novelist and dramatist.

Writing career

His novels are ''The Greening of Larry Mahon'' (2004), ''A Sudden Sun'' (2012), and ''Oak and Stone'' (2019). His book ''Related Lives: An Imagined Memoir'' (2016) is an unembellished retelling of the lives of the deceased members of his working-class family, drawing on imagination to fill any factual gaps. His stage plays include ''Spike Dreams'' (2003), ''Bubbles in the Hot-Tub'' (2007), ''Doctor Watt's Squeezebox'' (2008), ''Still, The Blackbird Sings'' (2010), ''Makaronik'' (2014), ''Denizen'' (2015) and ''Gruagairí'' (2007), for which he was awarded a Stewart Parker Trust / BBC Award. He received a Major Arts Award from The Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 2010. His work in Irish includes the novel ''Makaronik '' (2018), the on-line drama series ''Comhairleoirí '' (2011) and ''Ór agus Mil '' (Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 2022). Between 1996 and 2007, he wrote and directed plays for Sole Purpose Productions, published as ''Plays in a Peace Process'' (2008). He also wrote the screenplay for the 1996 Oscar-nominated, live-action short film ''

Dance Lexie Dance ''Dance Lexie Dance'' is a 1996 short film made in Northern Ireland. The two principal characters are a widower, Lexie, and his daughter, Laura, who live in Derry. Laura becomes keen on Irish stepdance and on joining Riverdance when she grows up. T ...

''.

Personal life

He was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the eldest child of Irish parents Eddie and Margaret (née Spillane) Duggan. The family returned to Ireland in 1963 and settled in his parents' home city of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, where he attended local schools. He studied physics at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. Soon after graduating, he worked as a volunteer teacher for two years in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, which is the setting of his first novel, ''The Greening of Larry Mahon''. Following that, he worked as director of a volunteer programme in The Gambia for two years, where he met Diane Traynor, whom he married in 1981. They settled in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, where he is still based.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duggan, Dave 1955 births Living people Irish male novelists Irish male dramatists and playwrights Writers from London Alumni of University College Dublin Writers from Waterford (city) Irish screenwriters 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male screenwriters Irish expatriates in Malaysia Writers from Derry (city) 21st-century Irish novelists Irish expatriates in the Gambia 21st-century Irish screenwriters