O'Brien

• Sources yet to be consulted:
  • Kate O'Brien: A Literary Portrait, Lorna Reynolds, 1987.
  • Kate O'Brien: A Writing Life, Eibhear Walshe, 2006.

Thomas O'Brien,
Tom, born 1853,
mar Katherine Thornhill [Katty, born 1864],
they lived Boru House,
she died 1903, age 39 yrs,
he died 1916, age 63 yrs, leaving children (adolescent to young adults) orphaned,
had issue:

1. Nancy O'Brien,
   born Ann, "Anne" on grave,
   Nance, or Nans,
   mar Stephen O'Mara [bapt 1884] and had adopted issue.

   
   

2. Kate O'Brien (and search),
   the writer (novelist and dramatist),
   generally reclaimed now as a lesbian writer, though some of those who knew her dispute this, e.g. [Reynolds, 1987] disputes this,
   born 3rd Dec 1897, Limerick city,
   her mother died when she was age 5 yrs, and she spent many years as a boarder at Laurel Hill, Limerick,
   "I've always been alone", she said in an interview in later life,
   educ UCD,
   [O'Brien, 1969] recalls that "in childhood and on through the university I was friends with the elder children of James" [James O'Mara], especially friends with Pat Lavelle,
   worked as secretary in Washington, DC, to James O'Mara temp 1920,
   lived in England,
   mar c.1924, London, to Gustav Renier [or Gustaaf, Dutch journalist], no issue,
   they quickly separated, [Muffie de Courcy] said she came home to Limerick in tears shortly after marriage, saying he was bringing women back to the house, old Stephen O'Mara advised her to leave him,
   lived in Spain for a time,
   her novels were popular, despite some of them being banned (possibly the most popular Irish woman novelist of her time),
   during WW2 she worked for Ministry of Information in London,
   lived Roundstone, Connemara from 1949 to 1960 [O'Brien, 1969],
   died Canterbury, Kent, 13th Aug 1974, age 76 yrs,
   bur Faversham, Kent, see grave.
   Her works include:

   Without My Cloak (novel, 1931). A bestseller. Won James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Hawthornden Prize. Tells story of a family of Catholic merchants (the "Considines"), who rose from 18th cent horse thieves to 19th cent respectable prosperity. The story spans from 1789 to 1877. Set in "Mellick", a fictional equivalent of Limerick. All the O'Maras of Limerick saw themselves as characters in it. Kate O'Brien actually said in a letter to Nancy that she was writing about a family like the O'Maras' rise from absolute poverty. Though it is also modelled on the O'Brien family's own rise from poverty. Biography says: "A chronicle of middle-class Irish life, it is, in effect, an Irish Forsyte Saga. Its theme would be constant throughout her novels, namely the struggle (particularly the struggle of Irish women) for individual freedom and love against the constricting demands of family, bourgeois society and Catholic religion." The Ante-Room (novel, 1934). Sequel to Without My Cloak. Set in a fictional equivalent of Limerick. Mary Lavelle (novel, 1936). Based on her experiences in Spain. Has a character struggling with her lesbian feelings. Banned in Ireland for "obscenity". Note that Kate O'Brien was a good friend of Pat Lavelle. Made into a movie, Talk of Angels (1998). Farewell Spain (political travelogue, 1937). Criticised Franco. For writing this she was banned from Franco's Spain for 20 years. She was allowed back into Spain 1957 through the intervention of her in-law Michael Rynne, Irish Ambassador to Spain. The Land of Spices (autobiographical novel, 1941). Based on her long years as a boarder at Laurel Hill. Set in a fictional equivalent of Limerick. Banned in Ireland because of a reference to (male) homosexuality. Complaining about the censorship, Sir John Keane, 5th Baronet read out in the Irish Senate the offending passage on 18 Nov 1942. The offending words, and other censored works he read out, were deleted from the Senate record - the first occasion on which the Senate censored itself. The debate in the Senate carried on into Dec 1942. That Lady (historical novel, 1946). Set in 16th cent Spain. About Ana de Mendoza e de la Cerda. Kate O'Brien adapted it into a Broadway show (1949). And it was made into a movie That Lady (1955). Some sources say it was because of her portrayal of Philip II in this book that she was refused entry to Spain. Presentation Parlour (autobiographical novel, 1963). Similar to The Land of Spices. Refers to Stephen O'Mara.

• Kate O'Brien centenary of birth was commemorated on Irish postage stamp 1997.
• There is a "Kate O'Brien's" bar in San Francisco (it is an Irish bar, NOT a gay bar).
• Kate O'Brien Weekend, Limerick.

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