The Big Chapel is a novel written by

Thomas Kilroy Thomas F. Kilroy (born 23 September 1934) is an Irish playwright and novelist. He was born in Green Street, Callan, County Kilkenny. He attended St Kieran's College and played hurling for the school team, captaining the senior team in 1952. He ...

that was shortlisted for the 1971 Booker Prize and recipient of the

Guardian Fiction Prize The Guardian Fiction Prize was a literary award sponsored by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. Founded in 1965, it recognized one fiction book per year written by a British or Commonwealth writer and published in the United Kingdom. The award ran for 33 ...

(also 1971) as well as the Heinemann Prize.

Plot

The Big Chapel – part of the Liberties Revival series – centers around an infamous clerical scandal in Victorian

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Within this story comes the ideas of humanity and ideology, taking a detailed look at the community and depicting life in Ireland with a focus on history and folklore in the region. It’s a book that looks at how state education is received in nineteenth century Ireland. At times the book is humorous; other times tragic. The main character Father Lannigan struggles with his revolution while Master Scully is stuck with too many choices. And then there is Horace Percy Butler and the landlord and amateur scientist who presents a whole tragic comic character. The major themes in The Big Chapel center around humanity, ideology, power and religion, depicted through tragic comedy. It is about community, and dealing with choice. It is littered with one man being forced to make a choice set in historic Ireland.

Awards

The Big Chapel was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1971, and won the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Heinemann Prize.

Acclaim

In February 2008 Kilroy was presented with the PEN Ireland Cross Award for his contribution to literature. According to

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 ...

, in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, “…what will keep it permanently vital will be the response it evokes once more from its astonished and grateful readers.” Tony Messenger describes the book as “a complex but rewarding work.” He adds that it is an: “extremely well researched novel about dogma, rigidly sticking to one’s views, character definition and the little complexities in life.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Chapel 1971 novels 20th-century Irish novels Novels set in Ireland Historical novels