Sebastian Barry
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2008-06-09T14:30:40Z
Neutrality
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'''Sebastian Barry''' (b. [[5 July]] [[1955]], [[Dublin]]) is an [[Ireland|Irish]] [[playwright]], [[novelist]], and [[poet]]. He is the son of the late Irish actress [[Joan O'Hara]].
He was educated at [[Trinity College, Dublin]], where he edited ''[[Icarus (magazine)|Icarus]]''. His academic posts have included Honorary Fellow in Writing at the [[University of Iowa]] (1984) and Writer Fellow at [[Trinity College, Dublin]] (1995-1996).
Barry wrote ''[[The Steward of Christendom]]'' and ''The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty'', both of which are about the dislocations (physical and otherwise) of [[Ulster loyalism|loyalist]] Irish people during the political upheavals of the early 20th century. The title character of the latter (McNulty), for instance, is a young man forced to leave Ireland by his former friends for his political beliefs during the [[Anglo-Irish War]].
He also wrote ''Hinterland'', a satirical play based loosely on Irish Prime Minister [[Charles Haughey]], the performance of which caused a minor controversy in Dublin. The ''[[Sunday Times]]'', which did not review the play, criticized it as "feeble, puerile, trite, dissociated, shallow, exploitative and gratuitously offensive"<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,216376,00.html?iid=chix-sphere ''Time'' (magazine) article regarding the production of ''Hinterland'' in Dublin]</ref>.
Barry's novel ''[[A Long Long Way]]'' was shortlisted for the [[2005]] [[Man Booker Prize]], and was selected for [[Dublin]]'s 2007 [[One city one book|One City One Book]] event.
<ref>
{{Citation
| publication-date = 2007-02-23
| title = Dublin prepares for big read.(BOOKS IN THE MEDIA: CULTURE)(Brief article)
| periodical = The Bookseller
| issue = 5269
| pages = 41
| issn = 00067539
}}
</ref>
The novel tells the story of Willie Dunne, a young recruit to the [[Royal Dublin Fusiliers]] during the First World War. It brings to life the divided loyalties that many Irish soldiers felt at the time following the [[Easter Rising]] in 1916.
Barry's maternal great-grandfather, James Dunne, provided the inspiration for the main character in his most internationally known play, ''[[The Steward of Christendom]]''. The main character, named Thomas Dunne in the play, was the chief superintendent of the [[Dublin Metropolitan Police]] from 1913-1922. He oversaw the area surrounding [[Dublin Castle]] until the [[Irish Free State]] takeover on [[16 January]] [[1922]]. One of his grandfathers belonged to the [[Royal Engineers|British
Army Corps of Royal Engineers]].
He currently lives in [[County Wicklow]] with his family.
==External links==
* {{contemporary writers|id=02B11P375512626533}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Sebastian}}
[[Category:Irish dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Irish novelists]]
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from County Dublin]]
[[Category:People from County Wicklow]]
[[Category:Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize recipients]]
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