Walter Macken (3 May 1915 – 22 April 1967) (Irish Uaitéar Ó Maicín), was born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, Ireland. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays.

Biography

Walter Macken was originally an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, principally with the Taibhdhearc (where he met his wife, Peggy) in Galway, and

The Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

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 ...

. He also played lead roles on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

M. J. Molloy Michael Joseph Molloy (3 March 1914 – 1994) was an Irish playwright. He was born and died in Milltown, County Galway. Molloy originally intended to become a priest, but contracted tuberculosis as a young man. He began writing during his lon ...

's ''The King of Friday's Men'' and his own play ''

Home Is the Hero ''Home Is the Hero'' is a 1959 Irish drama film directed by Fielder Cook. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Walter Macken – Paddo O'Reilly * Eileen Crowe – Daylia O'Reilly * Arthur Kennedy – Willie O ...

''. The success of his third book, ''Rain on the Wind'' (winner of the

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award in the USA), enabled him to focus his energies on writing. He also acted in films, notably in Arthur Dreifuss'

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of Brendan Behan's ''

The Quare Fellow ''The Quare Fellow'' is Brendan Behan's first play, first produced in 1954. The title is taken from a Hiberno-English pronunciation of ''queer''. Plot The play is set in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. The anti-hero of the play, The Quare Fellow, is never ...

''. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy of Irish historical novels '' Seek the Fair Land'', '' The Silent People'' and '' The Scorching Wind''. His son Ultan Macken is a well-known journalist in the print and broadcast media of Ireland, and wrote a biography of his father, ''Walter Macken: Dreams on Paper.''

List of works

Plays

*''Mungo's Mansion'' (Macmillan, 1946) *''Vacant Possession'' (Macmillan, 1948) *''Home is the Hero'' (Macmillan, 1952) *''Twilight is the Warrior'' (Macmillan, 1956)

Novels

*''Quench the Moon'' (Macmillan, 1948) *''I Am Alone'' (Macmillan, 1949) *''Rain on the Wind'' (

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 ...

, MacMillan, 1950) *''The Bogman'' (MacMillan, 1952) *''Sunset on the Window Panes'' (Macmillan, 1954) *''Sullivan'' (Macmillan, 1957) *'' Seek the Fair Land'' (MacMillan, 1959) *'' The Silent People'' (MacMillan, 1962) *'' The Scorching Wind'' (MacMillan, 1964) *''Brown Lord of the Mountain'' (Macmillan, 1966) Two further novels, 'And then No More' (1946) and 'Cockles and Mustard' (1947) remain unpublished.

Novels for children

Macken wrote some 5 collections of short stories for children, and also: *''Island of the Great Yellow Ox'' (MacMillan, 1966) *''Flight of the Doves'' (MacMillan, 1963), which was adapted for the cinema.

Short Story Collections

*''The Green Hills'' ''(MacMillan, 1956)'' *''God Made Sunday and other Stories'' ''(Macmillan, 1962)'' *''The Coll Doll and other Stories'' ''(Macmillan, 1969)'' *''City of the Tribes '' ''(Brandon, 1997)'' *''The Grass of the People'' ''(Brandon, 1998)''

References

External links

*
Entry at Irish Writers Online

Website for Walter Macken
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macken, Walter 1915 births 1967 deaths Irish male stage actors Irish male dramatists and playwrights People from Galway (city) People from County Galway 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male actors Irish male novelists Irish historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period