O'Brien, Flann, 1911-1966

Flann O'Brien was born as Brian O'Nolan on October 5, 1911, in Strabane, Ireland to Michael Vincent O'Nolan and Agnes (Gormley) O’Nolan. O’Brien was the third oldest, with eleven siblings: Gearóid, Ciarán, Roisin, Fergus, Kevin, Maeve, Nessa, Nuala, Sheila, Niall, and Micheál. O'Brien attended Synge Street Christian Brothers School then Blackrock College, where he was taught English by the President of the College, and future Archbishop, John Charles McQuaid. McQuaid helped O’Brien publish his first prose, that being a verse in the first issue of the revived College Annual (1930). He earned a leaving certificate from Blackrock in 1929 with honors in Irish, English, Latin, and history. Next, O’Brien attended University College Dublin where he studied Irish, English, and German, and joined the Literary and Historical Society. He contributed to the student magazine Comhthrom Féinne (Fair Play) under various guises, in particular the pseudonym Brother Barnabas. Earning a baccalaureate degree in 1932, he went on to a master’s degree, for which he wrote a thesis, Nádúir-Fhilíocht na Gaedhilge (Nature in Irish poetry), in 1935.

Following his father's death in July 1937, O’Brien was obliged to partially support his mother and ten siblings as a civil servant for a decade while writing on the side -- creating a magazine, Blather, with his siblings, and writing his first novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. O’Brien chose to employ many pen names during this time in order to avoid regulations on writing political articles. At Swim-Two-Birds was published in 1939, establishing himself under the pseudonym “Flann O’Brien” for the first time, but it did not sell well, and his second book, The Third Policeman, was not accepted for publication. Around this time, he also began to write the humorous columns that would become An Cruiskeen Lawn, using a different pseudonym, Myles na gCopaleen. His identity as na gCopaleen was kept largely secret.

O’Brien gradually rose through the ranks of the civil service, eventually serving as private secretary to Seán T. O'Kelly (a minister and later President of Ireland). On December 2, 1948 he married Evelyn McDonnell. A combination of his alcoholism and making derogatory remarks about senior politicians in his newspaper columns led to his forced retirement from the civil service in 1953.

From late 1940 to early 1966, O'Brien wrote short columns for The Irish Times, titled "Cruiskeen Lawn." Under pseudonyms, he regularly wrote letters to various newspapers, particularly The Irish Times, in which he targeted various well-known figures and writers. O’Brien also wrote works of fiction during this period, such as the novels: At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman, An Béal Bocht, The Hard Life, The Dalkey Archive, and Slattery's Sago Saga. In 1943, O’Brien briefly became a playwright, writing two unsuccessful plays; Faustus Kelly and Rhapsody in Stephen's Green.

In 1965, O’Brien was diagnosed with throat cancer, and he died of a heart attack on April 1, 1966.