Brian O'Nolan

Also known as Myles na gCopaleen, Brother Barnabas, George Knowall, Myles na Gopaleen, Flann O'Brien

Irish writer (1911-1966)

OverviewAI-generated

Brian O'Nolan, also known by the pseudonyms Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen, was an Irish writer, novelist, journalist, and playwright. Born in Strabane in 1911, he was educated at University College Dublin and wrote in both Irish and English. His notable works include At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman, and An Béal Bocht. He also authored Other Myles and The Poor Mouth.

O'Nolan received the Tähtivaeltaja Award and worked within the fields of modernist and postmodern literature, prose, and drama. He died in Dublin in 1966 and is buried at Deans Grange Cemetery. His archives are held at the Harry Ransom Center.

Synthesized by Vinony from 23 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Open Library. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

In the Vinony graph

Vinony's link graph records 323 inbound references to Brian O'Nolan, and connects out to Tomas O'Crohan, Deans Grange Cemetery and London.

Vinony files it under 1911 births, 1966 deaths and 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights.

Vinony links it to 32 Wikipedia language editions.

Person · Open Library

Works: 3

Top works

Other Myles/Myles Na Gaeilge
The Poor Mouth
At swim-two-birds

via Open Library + Wikidata

Key facts

Born: Brian O'Nolan , ( 1911-10-05 ) 5 October 1911, Strabane , County Tyrone, Ireland
Died: 1 April 1966 (1966-04-01) (aged 54), Dublin , Ireland
Resting place: Dean's Grange Cemetery
Pen name: Flann O'Brien Myles na Gopaleen Brother Barnabas George Knowall
Occupation: Civil servant, writer
Alma mater: University College Dublin
Genre: Metafiction , satire
Notable works: At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) An Béal Bocht (1941) The Hard Life (1961) The Dalkey Archive (1964) The Third Policeman (1967) "Cruiskeen Lawn" column
Spouse: Evelyn McDonnell ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1948 )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Family name: O'Brien
Gender: male
Citizenship: Republic of Ireland
Place of birth: Strabane
Place of death: Dublin
Occupation: playwright
Educated at: University College Dublin
Languages spoken: English language
Award: Tähtivaeltaja Award

Show 8 more facts

date of birth: 1911-10-05
date of death: 1966-04-01
pseudonym: George Knowall
ethnic group: Irish people
place of burial: Deans Grange Cemetery
writing language: Irish
archives at: Harry Ransom Center
name in native language: Brian Ó Nualláin

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~36 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Brian O'Nolan (Irish: Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966), whose pen names included Flann O'Brien, was an Irish Civil Service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature. Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, he is regarded as a key figure in modernist and postmodern literature. His four English-language novels, At Swim-Two-Birds (1939), The Hard Life (1961), The Dalkey Archive (1964) and The Third Policeman (1967), were published under the pen name Flann O'Brien. His many satirical columns in The Irish Times and an Irish-language novel, An Béal Bocht (1941), were written under the name Myles na gCopaleen.

O'Brien's novels have attracted a wide following both for their unconventional humour and as prominent examples of modernist metafiction. As a novelist, O'Brien was influenced by James Joyce. He was nonetheless sceptical of the "cult" of Joyce, saying "I declare to God if I hear that name Joyce one more time I will surely froth at the gob."

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Brian O'Nolan” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.