Ulick O'Connor ( ; 12 October 1928 – 7 October 2019) was an Irish writer, historian and critic.

Early life

Born in

Rathgar Rathgar () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (off ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, in 1928 to Matthew O'Connor, the Dean of the Royal College of Surgeons, O'Connor attended Garbally College,

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...

, St. Mary's College, Rathmines and later

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, where he studied law and philosophy, becoming known as a keen sporting participant, especially in

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, rugby and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, as well as a distinguished debater – during his time there he was an active member of the Literary and Historical Society. He subsequently studied at Loyola University, New Orleans. He was called to the bar in 1951.

Career and writings

After practising at the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

in Dublin, O'Connor spent time as a critic before turning to writing. His work spanned areas such as biography,

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

Irish history The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 34,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of ''Homo sapiens'' to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Qua ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

, diary, and

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

. He was a sports correspondent for ''The Observer'' from 1955 to 1961. He was a well-known intellectual figure in contemporary Irish affairs and expressed strong opinions against

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

and the war on drugs. He contributed a regular poetry column to the Irish daily the ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...

'', also wrote a column for the ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...

'' and a sporting column for the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', as well as broadcasting on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

. His best-known writing was his biographies of Oliver St. John Gogarty,

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...

, his studies of the early 20th-century Irish troubles and the

Irish Literary Revival The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, sometimes nicknamed the Celtic Twilight though this has a broader meaning) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes wor ...

. He was also known for the autobiographical ''The Ulick O’Connor Diaries 1970-1981: A Cavalier Irishman (2001)'', which details his encounters with well-known Irish and international figures, ranging from political (

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. He was Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, ...

and

Paddy Devlin Patrick Joseph Devlin (8 March 1925 – 15 August 1999) was an Irish socialist, labour and civil rights activist and writer from Belfast. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), a Stormont MP and a member o ...

) to the artistic ( Christy Brown and

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

). It also documents the progress of the

Peace Process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...

during the same time, and the progress of the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

. Although he travelled extensively, O'Connor lived in his parental home in Dublin's

. He was a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...

. O'Connor's great-grandfather was Matt Harris, Land Leaguer,

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

, and

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...

Member of Parliament. He was related to American actor

Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August2, 1924– June21, 2001) was an American actor whose television career spanned over four decades. He found widespread fame as Archie Bunker (for which he won four Emmy Awards), the main character in the CBS televis ...

. He died on 7 October 2019, five days short of his 91st birthday.

Published works

Plays

* ''The Dream Box'' (1972) * ''The Dark Lovers'' (1975) * ''The Emperor’s Envoy'' (1976) * ''The Grand Inquisitor; Submarine; and Deirdre'' (Dublin 1977, New York 1980) * ''Execution'' (1985) * ''The Oval Machine'' (1986) * ''A Trinity of Two'' (1988) * ''Joyicity'' (1989)ABBey Theatre.ie, Joyicity 1990 (Peacock) by Ulick O'Connor * ''Deux de la Trinite'' (translated by Ramond Gerome, 1990).

Poetry collections

* ''Lifestyles'' (1973) * ''Three Noh Plays'' (1980) * ''All Things Counter'' (1986) * ''One is Animate'' (1990) * ''Poems of the Damned'' (translations from Baudelaire's Fleur du Mal, 1991).

Non-fiction and autobiography

* ''Irish Tales and Sagas'' (1981) * ''A Critic at Large'' (1984) * ''Biographers and the Art of Biography'' (1990) * ''The Ulick O'Connor Diaries, 1970-1981: A Cavalier Irishman'' (2003)

Biographical writings

* ''The Times I've Seen:Oliver St. John Gogarty:A Biography'' (1963) * ''Brendan Behan'' (1970) * ''Celtic Dawn: Biography'' (1984) * ''All the Olympians: A Biographical Portrait of the Irish Literary Renaissance'' (1987) * ''Executions'' (1983) * ''The Troubles: Michael Collins and the Volunteers in the Fight for Irish Freedom 1912-22'' (2001)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Ulick 1928 births 2019 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Aosdána members Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish rugby union players Loyola University New Orleans alumni People educated at Garbally College People educated at St Mary's College, Dublin University College Dublin R.F.C. players People from Rathgar