Seán Mac Mathúna is an Irish writer whose work has been published in both Irish and

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Biography

He was born in

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and attended

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. He began his literary career as a writer of short stories, a number of which were published in Irish in ''

Comhar ''Comhar'' (; "partnership") is a prominent literary journal in the Irish language, published by the company Comhar Teoranta. It was founded in 1942, and has published work by some of the most notable writers in Irish, including Máirtín Ó Cadha ...

'' and in English in the ''

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'' and the ''

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''. In 1983 his first collection, entitled ''Ding'' (Wedge), was published by An Comhlacht Oideachais. His second Irish-language collection, ''Banana'', was published by Cois Life in 1999, and won Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin /Irish Book of the Year Award. In 2005 his selected short stories were published by Cois Life under the title ''Úlla'' (Apples). Mac Mathúna has written four novels. One of them, entitled ''Gealach'' (Moon), was published by Leabhar Breac in 2012 and won an

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

prize. Mac Mathúna is also a playwright. In 1992 the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

produced ''The Winter Thief/Gadaí Géar na Geamhoíche'' in English and Irish on alternate nights, using the same cast. In 1999 the Taibhdhearc Theatre in

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 ...

produced his play ''Hula Hul''. A selection of his work can be heard on the audiobook ''Niall Tóibín ag léamh gearrscéalta le Seán Mac Mathúna'' (

Niall Tóibín Niall Tóibín (; 21 November 1929 – 13 November 2019) was an Irish people, Irish comedian and actor. Born in Cork (city), Cork into an Irish language, Irish speaking family, Tóibín grew up on the north-side of the city in Bishop's Field. H ...

reading short stories by Seán Mac Mathúna) (Cois Life, 2009). He has expressed the view that literary inspiration is something closely tied to the deepest sources of our humanity: "But writers are reluctant to talk about inspiration because it’s an acknowledgment, perhaps, that they didn’t write the story themselves but that it came into existence because of the will of a source which is higher than us". He has also said that he prefers the Irish language versions of his work.Interview with author, Gaelchultúr Newsletter #8: April 2011 : http://www.gaelchultur.com/en/newsletters/newsletterarticle.aspx?id=98

Novels

* ''Cros na Sceilge'' (Coiscéim, 2013) * ''Gealach '' (Leabhar Breac, 2012) * ''Scéal Eitleáin'' (Coiscéim, 2005)

Short stories

* ''Úlla'' (Cois Life, 2005) * ''Banana'' (Cois Life, 1999) * ''Ceardlann 85'' (Coiscéim, 1988) * ''Ding agus Scéalta Eile'' (An Comhlacht Oideachais, 1983) * ''The Atheist and Other Stories'' (Wolfhound, 1987) (the author’s translation of the stories in ''Ding agus Scéalta Eile'') * ''Blas'' (An Comhlacht Oideachais, 1979) * ''Ráfla'' (An Comhlacht Oideachais, 1978)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Mathuna, Sean Irish male short story writers 20th-century Irish short story writers 20th-century Irish male writers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Irish-language writers People from Tralee