George O'Brien (born 14 February 1945 in

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

) is an Irish

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

ist, writer, and academic.

Life

O'Brien was raised by his paternal grandmother in

Lismore, County Waterford Lismore () is a historic town in County Waterford, in the province of Munster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally associated with Mo Chutu of Lismore, Saint Mochuda of Lismore, who founded Lismore Abbey in the 6th century, the town develop ...

after his mother died. He was educated at St. Augustine College, in

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

. In 1962, he moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to live with his father and stepmother. He graduated as an electronic engineer from the College of Technology, Kevin Street,

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The insti ...

and worked as an apprentice photographer. He moved to London where he worked as a barman, clerk and encyclopaedia salesman. He continued his education at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1968, then moved to

Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of a ...

in 1970 where he graduated with a BA in English and American Literature in 1973, and earned a PhD in 1980.O'Brien
/ref> O'Brien taught at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

(1974) and at

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(1975), then lectured at Warwick University (1976–1980). He crossed the Atlantic where he was visiting assistant professor at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie is in the Hudson River Valley region, midway between the core of the New ...

(1980–1984), and then became associate professor, then professor of English at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(1984–present).

Works

His memoirs include ''The Village of Longing: An Irish Boyhood in the Fifties'' (1987); ''Dancehall Days, or Love in Dublin'' (1988); and ''Out of Our Minds'' (1994). He has written studies of Irish playwright

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 requ ...

, co-edited ''The Ireland Anthology'' with Sean Dunne, and received the Irish Book Awards silver medal, and the John Eddeyrn Hughes Prize for ''The Village of Longing''. O'Brien has also written occasional literary journalism for the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

Resources

O'Brien's biography at Irish Writers Online

Professor George O'Brien
listing at Georgetown University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, George Irish male writers Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers 1945 births Living people People from Enniscorthy Writers from County Wexford 20th-century Irish writers 21st-century Irish writers People from Lismore, County Waterford Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Alumni of Ruskin College Alumni of the University of Warwick Georgetown University faculty Academics of the University of Warwick