The Modern Novel

Biography

John McGahern was born in Dublin in 1934. His father was a police officer and his mother a teacher. His mother died in 1945 and he and his sisters went to live with their father in police barracks. After attending teacher training college, he worked as a teacher, mainly in Dublin, while studying for a university degree. He gave up teaching after the success of his first novel. He left Ireland soon after his second novel was banned because of its theme of a priest’s sexuality. He returned to Ireland in 1974 and lived on a farm in the small town of Mohill till his death in 2006. He is often considered one of the best Irish writers of the period, with his ability to focus both on the ordinary lives of people and the important issues of the day, while illustrating the essential meaninglessness of life, a theme which has had critics comparing him to the French existentialists.

Other links

John McGahern
John McGahern, 1934-2006: A tribute and a conversation
Leavetaking and Homecoming in the writing of John McGahern
John McGahern Library
Painting of John McGahern
Interview
Interview
Interview
Obituary
Obituary
Obituary
Obituary