Sebastian Barry 2336630 218179022 2008-06-09T14:30:40Z Neutrality 68411 '''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]] {{Ireland-writer-stub}} {{Euro-theatre-stub}} [[de:Sebastian Barry]]