Alexandre Manuel Vahia de Castro O'Neill de Bulhões,

GOSE Gose () is a warm fermented beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Dominant flavours in gose include a lemon sourness, a herbal characteristic, and a strong salti ...

(19 December 1924, in Lisbon – 21 August 1986, in Lisbon) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

writer and poet of Irish descent.

Family

He was born at 39

Fontes Pereira de Melo António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo GCTE KGF (; Lisbon, 8 September 1819 – 22 January 1887) was a Portuguese statesman and engineer. He was a leading parliamentarian and political figure of his time. Among other posts held, he was six ...

Avenue the son of José António Pereira de Eça O'Neill (Lisbon, c. 1890 – ?), a bank worker, and wife Maria da Glória Vahia de Barros de Castro (17 March 1905 – aft. October 1989), and paternal grandson of writer, poet, conferencewoman and journalist

Maria O'Neill Maria da Conceição Infante de Lacerda Pereira de Eça Custance O'Neill (Lisbon, 19 November 1873 – 23 March 1932) was a Portuguese writer, poet, journalist, and spiritualist of Irish descent. Family Maria O'Neill was the daughter of Carlos T ...

. His ancestor

João O'Neill João O'Neill (in Irish Seán Ó Néill, in English Shane or John O'Neill; died 21 January 1788), was the titular head of a branch of the Clanaboy O'Neill dynasty, whose family has been in Portugal since the 18th century. Life He was born in the v ...

(Irish: Seán Ó Néill) had emigrated from Ireland in 1740. He had an older sister, Maria Amélia Vahia de Castro O'Neill de Bulhões, who became a

Nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is ...

Career

He was a

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

person and worked as a publicity professional.

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

and concretist poet and writer, and a publicist, who collaborated in many

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...

s. In 1948, O'Neill was among the founders of the Lisbon Surrealist Movement, along with

Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos or Mário Cesariny (August 9, 1923 – November 26, 2006) was a Portuguese surrealist poet and painter. He published several major works of poetry during a career spanning 50 years. Cesariny was also a painter, but hi ...

, José-Augusto França and others. His writings soon diverged from Surrealist to form an original style whose poetry reflects a love/

hate Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...

relationship with his country. His salient characteristics – a disrespect of conventions, both social and literary, an attitude of permanent revolt, playfulness with language, and the use of parody and

black humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

– are used to form a body of incisive depictions of what is to be Portuguese and his relation with the country. Although most of his works have been lost or are missing or in private collections some of his work was displayed in 2002 at an exhibit on the

movement. O'Neill was in permanent conflict with Portugal. While other contemporaries wrote poems that protested against national life under Salazar, O'Neill's attack ran deeper. Poems such as ''Standing at Fearful Attention'' and ''Portugal'' suggested that the dictatorial regime was a symptom (the worst symptom) of graver ills – lack of courage and smallness of vision – woven into the nation's

psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

. Other poems, such as ''Lament of the Man Who Misses Being Blind'', seemed to hold religion and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

responsible for an obscurantism that made change difficult if not impossible. A publicist by profession, famed for inventing some of the most ingenious advertising slogans of his time, O'Neill was unusually adept at manipulating words and using them in an efficacious manner, but he refused to put that talent at the service of a lyrically lofty, feel-good sort of poetry (see 'Simply Expressive'). Stridently anti-

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

, concerned to keep humanity in its place as just one of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, he did not believe that an especially harmonious world was possible, and he abhorred all attempts to escape the world, whether through mystical or poetical exaltations. His one hope, or consolation, explicitly stated in ''St. Francis's Empty Sandal'', was in the connection (never entirely peaceful) he felt with other members of the species.

Decorations

He was awarded the degree of

Grand Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer, ...

of the

Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword ( pt, Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada) is a Portuguese order of chivalry. Its full name is the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientif ...

Marriages and children

He married firstly on 27 December 1957 and divorced on 15 January 1971 television and film screenwriter, editor and director

Noémia Delgado Noémia Delgado (7 June 1933 – 2 March 2016) was a Portuguese television and film screenwriter, film editor and director. Background She was the daughter of Luís Delgado (21 August 1900 – 8 December 1986) and wife Judite da Conceição d ...

. The couple had a son:''Raízes e Memórias'', Associação Portuguesa de Genealogia, Lisboa * Alexandre Delgado O'Neill (Lisbon, 23 December 1959 – Lisbon, Portugal, 4 January 1993), a photographer, unmarried and without issue He married secondly in Lisbon on 4 August 1971 and divorced on 20 February 1981 politician

Teresa Patrício de Gouveia Maria Teresa Pinto Basto Patrício de Gouveia, GOIH GCIH GCC GCOH KMM (born on 18 July 1946), commonly known as Teresa Patrício de Gouveia, is a Portuguese cultural manager, public servant and retired politician. Background Gouveia is a da ...

. The couple had a son:''História da Família Ferreira Pinto Basto'', Carlos Lourenço do Carmo da Camara Bobone, Livraria Bizantina, 1.ª Edição, Lisboa, 1997, pg. 403 * Afonso de Gouveia O'Neill (born 28 May 1976), unmarried and without issue

Filmography

* ''

Las Hurdes Las Hurdes (; Extremaduran: ''Las Jurdis'') is a ''comarca'' in the Sistema Central, at the northern end of the province of Cáceres in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, Spain. A well-known historical region, Las Hurdes is currently a Site ...

'' aka ''Las Hurdes, tierra sin pan'' (Spain: long title) or ''Tierra sin pan'' (Spain: short title) or ''Land Without Bread'' (International: English title) (1933) .... Himself – Voice * ''

Dom Roberto ''Dom Roberto'' is a 1962 Portuguese film directed by Ernesto de Sousa and starring Raul Solnado, Glicínia Quartin and Nicolau Breyner. It was released on 30 May 1962. Cast * Raul Solnado * Glicínia Quartin *Nicolau Breyner * Rui Mendes *Lu� ...

'' (1962) Author of Poems * '' Pássaros de Asas Cortadas'' aka ''Birds with Clipped Wings'' (International: English title) (1963) Author of the

Dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is ...

* '' Sete Balas Para Selma'' (1967) Author of Poem * ''

Águas Vivas Águas may refer to: Places * Dos Aguas, a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain * Aguas, municipality in Aragon, Spain * Palace of the Marqués de Dos Aguas, a Rococo palace in Valencia, Spain People People with this surname include: * ...

'' (1969) .... Narrator and also

Film writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

* ''

A Grande Roda A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''ae ...

'' (1970)

* '' Sever do Vouga... Uma Experiência'' (1971) .... Narrator * '' Schweik na Segunda Guerra Mundial'' (1975) ( TV) Author of Poems * '' Cantigamente'' (3 episodes, "#1.1", "#1.2" and "#1.3", 1976) Television writer * ''

Máscaras ''Máscaras'' ( en, Masks) is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by RecordTV. Created by Lauro César Muniz. It premiered on April 4, 2012 and ended on October 2, 2012. Plot Otávio is a thriving cattle breeder in Mato Grosso do Sul. ...

'' (1976) .... Narrator * ''

Nós por cá Todos Bem ''Nós'' (, meaning "custom" or "trend") is an Irish language culture and lifestyle magazine. Launched online on 17 March 2008 during Seachtain na Gaeilge, it began publishing a glossy print edition in November of the same year. Run on a vo ...

'' (1978) Author of Poem "Coro das Criadas de Servir" * '' Ninguém'' (1979) ( TV) Television writer * ''

Lisboa Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

'' (1979) ( TV) Television writer * ''

Prata da Casa Prata may refer to: Places Brazil * Prata (Minas Gerais), a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais Burkina Faso *Prata, Burkina Faso, a village in Sissili Province Italy *Prata, Massa Marittima, in the Province of Grosseto *Prata, Suvereto, ...

'' (unknown episodes, 1980) .... Himself as Jury Member

References

External links

*
Alexandre O'Neill's Genealogy in a Portuguese Genealogical site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Alexandre 1924 births 1986 deaths People from Lisbon Portuguese anti-fascists Portuguese people of Irish descent Portuguese male poets 20th-century Portuguese poets 20th-century male writers