Liam Lynch (1937 – 1989) was an
Irish playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
and
novelist of the 20th century, best known for his 1962 play ''Do Thrushes Sing in Birmingham?'' and 1982 play ''Krieg''.
Early life
Lynch was born in 1937 in
Dublin; his father was a
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
in the
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
. Lynch later lived in
County Cork and
County Limerick,
Birmingham and
Manchester before returning to Dublin.
Career
Lynch's play ''Do Thrushes Sing in Birmingham?'' was shown at the
Abbey Theatre in 1963,
while ''Soldier'' was shown in the
Peacock in 1969. ''Strange Dreams Unending'' was broadcast by
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
in 1973. He also wrote three novels.
Lynch received
bursaries from the
Arts Council in 1983 and in 1986. He was elected to the elite artistic institution
Aosdána.
Personal life
Lynch died in 1989, reputedly of
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
.
Works
Plays
*''Do Thrushes Sing in Birmingham?'' (1962)
*''Soldier'' (1969)
*''Strange Dreams Unending'' (1974)
*''Krieg'' (1982)
*'' Voids'' (1982)
Novels
*''Shell, Sea Shell'' (1983)
*''Tenebrae: A Passion'' (1985)
*''The Pale Moon of Morning'' (1995, posthumous)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Liam
1937 births
1992 deaths
Aosdána members
Irish male dramatists and playwrights
Writers from Dublin (city)
Irish male novelists
20th-century Irish novelists
20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights