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Joseph Victor O'Connor (born 20 September 1963) is an Irish novelist. His 2002
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
'' Star of the Sea'' was an international number one bestseller. Before success as an author, he was a journalist with the '' Sunday Tribune'' newspaper and ''
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''. He is a regular contributor to
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, ...
and a member of the Irish artists' association Aosdána.


Early life

O'Connor is the eldest of five children and brother of singer Sinéad O'Connor. He is from the
Glenageary Glenageary ( ) is an area on the Southside, Dublin, Southside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. While it has no formal boundary, it is surrounded by the areas of Dalkey, Dún Laoghaire, Glasthule, Johnsto ...
area of south Dublin. His parents are Sean O'Connor, a structural engineer who later turned
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
, and Marie O'Connor. Educated at Blackrock College, O'Connor graduated from University College Dublin with an M.A. in Anglo-Irish Literature. He did post-graduate work at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
and received a second M.A. from Leeds Metropolitan University's Northern School of Film and Television in screenwriting. In the late 1980s, he worked for the British Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign; his second novel, ''Desperadoes'', drew on his experiences in revolutionary Nicaragua.


Career

O'Connor's novel ''Cowboys and Indians'' (1991) was on the shortlist for the
Whitbread Prize The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in United Kingdom, UK and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first ...
. On 10 February 1985 his mother was killed in a car accident. The mother of his character Sweeney in ''The Salesman'' (1998) died in the same manner. In 2002, he wrote the novel '' Star of the Sea,'' which ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' listed as one of the top books of 2003. His 2010 novel, ''Ghost Light'' is loosely based on the life of the actress Maire O'Neill, born Mary "Molly" Allgood, and her relationship with the Irish playwright
John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector of folklores. As an important driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, Ir ...
. It was published by Harvill Secker of London in 2010. O'Connor was a Research Fellow at the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
and Visiting Professor of Creative Writing/Writer in Residence at Baruch College, the City University of New York. In 2014, he was announced as the inaugural Frank McCourt Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick, where he teaches on the MA in Creative Writing. He was a regular contributor to '' Drivetime'', an evening news and current affairs programme on RTÉ Radio 1. O'Connor's ''Shadowplay'', published in 2019, was shortlisted for the 2019 Costa Book Prize in the Novel category.


Personal life

O'Connor is married to television and film writer Anne-Marie Casey. They have two sons. He and his family have lived in London and Dublin, and occasionally resided in New York City.


Awards and Honours


Selected publications

* ''Cowboys and Indians'' (1991) * ''True Believers'' (Short Stories) * ''Even the Olives Are Bleeding: The Life and Times of Charles Donnelly'' (1993) * ''Desperadoes'' (1993) * ''The Secret World of the Irish Male'' (1994) * ''The Irish Male at Home and Abroad'' (1996) * ''Sweet Liberty: Travels in Irish America'' (1996) * ''The Salesman'' (1998) * ''Inishowen'' (2000) * ''The Comedian'' (2000) * ''The Last of the Irish Males'' (2001) * '' Star of the Sea: Farewell to Old Ireland'' (2002) * ''Redemption Falls'' (2007) * ''Ghost Light'' (2010) * ''Where Have You Been?'' (2012) (Short Stories) * ''The Thrill of It All'' (2014) * ''Shadowplay'' (2019) * ''My Father's House'' (2023) * The Ghosts of Rome (2025)


Stage plays

* '' Red Roses and Petrol'' * ''The Weeping of Angels'' * '' My Cousin Rachel'' – stage adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel. * ''Handel's Crossing ''


References


External links


www.doollee.com – The Playwrights' Database



Barnesandnoble.com interview

Personal Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Joseph 1963 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Aosdána members Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish novelists People from Glenageary Sunday Tribune people People educated at Blackrock College Irish PEN Award for Literature winners Irish male novelists