Joseph O'Neill (1886-1952) was an Irish novelist. Mary Devenport and Joesph ONeill

Biography

O'Neill claimed later in his life that he was born in the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland, in 1886, but he was in fact born in the inland

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

town of

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

, preferring, as a writer, the perceived romance of being born in the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

-speaking islands. He became a school inspector and subsequently Secretary of the Department of Education in the newly formed

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. He wrote five novels, of which the best-known was ''Land Under England'' (1935), a science-fiction account of a totalitarian society ruled by telepathic mind control. The novel combines elements of a "lost race" narrative (the descendants of a Roman legion live underground under the north of England) with fears of totalitarian control. Arthur O. Lewis, "O'Neill, Joseph", in ''

Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers ''Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers'' is a book by Curtis C. Smith published in October 1981 on science fiction authors in the 20th century. It is the third in the St. Martin's Press's ''Twentieth-Century Writers of the English Language'' ...

'' by Curtis C. Smith. St. James Press, 1986, (p.553-4). ''Land Under England'' has an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

subtext. The novel was cited by

Karl Edward Wagner Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He wr ...

as one of the thirteen best science-fiction horror novels.N. G. Christakos, "Three By Thirteen: The Karl Edward Wagner Lists" in ''Black Prometheus: A Critical Study of Karl Edward Wagner'', ed. Benjamin Szumskyj, Gothic Press 2007. His other SF novel, published in 1936, is the future-war story ''Day of Wrath''. His other novels include the

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

(or timeslip novel) ''Wind From the North'', in which the author is transported in a dreamlike fashion to Dublin or Dyflin in the period leading up to the

Battle of Clontarf The Battle of Clontarf () took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted an army led by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse- Irish alliance comprising the forces of Sigtrygg Silkbea ...

in 1014, and ''Philip'', a biblical epic. ''Wind from the North'' was later a standard Irish primary school text in the 1950s, in an edition published by Browne & Nolan. He died on 6 May 1952.

Personal life

O'Neill was the husband of a noted writer in her own right — Mary Devenport O'Neill. She was a poet and friend of

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

, who consulted her when writing '

A Vision ''A Vision: An Explanation of Life Founded upon the Writings of Giraldus and upon Certain Doctrines Attributed to Kusta Ben Luka'', privately published in 1925, is a book-length study of various philosophical, historical, astrological, and poet ...

List of works

* ''Wind From the North'' (1934) Jonathan Cape, UK;

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, US * ''Land under England'' (1935) Gollancz * ''Day of Wrath'' (1936) Gollancz * ''Philip'' (1940) Gollancz * ''Chosen by the Queen'' (1947)

Biography

Personal life

List of works

References

Further reading