George O'Brien (born 14 February 1945 in Enniscorthy,

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

) is an Irish memoirist, writer, and academic.

Life

O'Brien was raised by his paternal grandmother in

Lismore, County Waterford Lismore () is a historic town in County Waterford, in the province of Munster, Ireland. Originally associated with Saint Mochuda of Lismore, who founded Lismore Abbey in the 7th century, the town developed around the medieval Lismore Castle. As ...

after his mother died. He was educated at St. Augustine College, in

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

. In 1962, he moved to

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 ...

to live with his father and stepmother. He graduated as an electronic engineer from the College of Technology, Kevin Street, Dublin Institute of Technology and worked as an apprentice photographer. He moved to London where he worked as a barman, clerk and encyclopaedia salesman. He continued his education at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) an ...

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in 1968, then moved to Warwick University in 1970 where he graduated with a BA in English and American Literature in 1973, and earned a PhD in 1980.O'Brien
/ref> O'Brien taught at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

(1974) and at

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

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(1975), then lectured at Warwick University (1976-1980). He crossed the Atlantic where he was visiting assistant professor at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, Poughkeepsie (1980-1984), and then became associate professor, then professor of English at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

(1984-present).

Works

His memoirs include ''The Village of Longing: An Irish Boyhood in the Fifties'' (1987); ''Dancehall Days, or Love in Dublin'' (1988); and ''Out of Our Minds'' (1994). He has written studies of Irish playwright

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

, co-edited ''The Ireland Anthology'' with Sean Dunne, and received the Irish Book Awards silver medal, and the John Eddeyrn Hughes Prize for ''The Village of Longing''. O'Brien has also written occasional literary journalism for the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

Resources

O'Brien's biography at Irish Writers Online

Professor George O'Brien
listing at Georgetown University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, George Irish writers Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers 1945 births Living people People from Enniscorthy