The novelist, short-story writer and playwright John McGahern was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, as one of five children. McGahern was raised in counties Leitrim and Roscommon, educated at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra and University College Dublin, and later worked as a primary schoolteacher in Clontarf, Dublin (1955-64). His first novel,
The Barracks, appeared in 1963. His second,
The Dark(1965), provoked great controversy and was banned under Ireland’s censorship legislation. After writing this novel McGahern was dismissed from his teaching post without explanation and left Ireland for London, where he worked as a labourer, teacher and book reviewer. In 1970 he purchased a small property in County Leitrim which became his home in 1974, the year his third novel,
The185 words
Citation: Harte, Liam. "John McGahern". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3044, accessed 21 November 2024.]
