Katherine Alexandra Cruise O'Brien (26 May 1948 – 26 March 1998) was an Irish writer. The third and youngest child of Irish politician and diplomat

Conor Cruise O'Brien Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 ...

and Christine Foster, she was born in

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 ...

, and grew up in

Howth Howth ( ; ; ) is a peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the ...

. She went to school in Dublin and studied English at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. Her mother, Christine Foster, was born in Derry and was raised in Belfast. Christine's father, Alec Foster, was headmaster of Belfast Royal Academy, and played international rugby for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. While still at university, Kate Cruise O'Brien published her first short story and shortly afterwards, at the age of 22 she won the Hennessy Literary Award. She graduated in 1971 and married Joseph Kearney, son of a former secretary to the Department of Defence. She returned to university to study for a Higher Diploma in Education. Unable to find a teaching post she started a small nursery for the children of working mothers. Her first book, ''A Gift Horse'', a collection of short stories, won her the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.

Seán Ó Faoláin Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin (27 February 1900 – 20 April 1991) was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Irish culture. A short-story writer of international repute, he was also a leading commentator and critic. Biography Ó ...

described it as containing "the seed of genius". She later became a literary editor with the Poolbeg Press, and became well known for her canny knack for uncovering new talent.

Personal life

In 1971, she married Joseph Kearney; the couple had one child. Kate Cruise O'Brien died suddenly in 1998 in Dublin.

Works

*''A Gift Horse, and Other Stories'' (1977), Poolbeg Press *''The Homesick Garden'' (1991), Poolbeg Press *''If Only: Short Stories of Love and Divorce'' (1997), Poolbeg Press (co-editor) *''In Sunshine Or in Shadow'' (1999), Poolbeg Press (co-editor)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Kate Cruise 1948 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Irish poets Irish women poets Writers from County Dublin 20th-century Irish short story writers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish literary editors