Conleth O'Connor

Conleth O'Connor
Born1947
Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
Died1993 (age 45)
OccupationPoet
LanguageEnglish
Years active1976–1993
SpouseFrances
Children1

Conleth O'Connor (1947–1993) was an Irish poet.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

O'Connor was born in 1947.[5] His family were from Dún Laoghaire, but he grew up in Camolin, County Wexford.[2]

Career

O'Connor published four collections of poetry and was elected to Aosdána, an elite association of Irish artists, serving as Toscaire (co-leader) in 1990.[6] He worked at the Irish Writers Centre and Irish Writers Union. He contributed to The Great Book of Ireland and died in 1993.[7]

He most admired Samuel Beckett, Paul Celan and Miroslav Holub.[8]

Anthony Cronin described O'Connor as "one of Ireland's most distinctive and experimental poets until his premature death in 1993, dissecting the realities of modern Irish life."[9] Anne Haverty wrote a poem in his honour in a 1997 issue of Books Ireland, "Death's Gift."[10]

Bibliography

Poetry

  • Trinities (1976)[11][12]
  • The Judas Cry (1979)[13]
  • Behind the Garden Gnomes (1982)[14]
  • A Corpse Auditions Its Mourners: New and Selected Poems (1987)[15]
  • Nights without Stars, Days Without Sun: Selected Poems (1997; posthumous)[16]

Plays

  • The Re-Incarnation of Mr. Dogsbody[17]
  • Two Letters and Overtime[18]

Personal life

O'Connor was married to Frances, a ceramicist; they had one child, Breffni.[8] He was a close friend of the writer Dermot Bolger.[19]

References

  1. ^ "The North - 21". The Poetry Business.
  2. ^ a b "Conleth O'Connor". www.ricorso.net.
  3. ^ "An enthralling companion". The Irish Times.
  4. ^ "The Christmas when poetry reached Finglas". Independent.ie. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. ^ Hogan, Robert (12 January 2016). Macmillan Dictionary of Irish Literature. Macmillan International Higher Education. ISBN 9781349077953 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "The Arts Council Annual Report 1990" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Sour grapes, low spirits". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b Casey, Philip (1993). "Conleth O'Connor: An Appreciation". The Poetry Ireland Review (38). JSTOR 25577506 – via JSTOR.
  9. ^ "Arc Publications - Books". www.arcpublications.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Death's Gift: In Memory of Conleth O'Connor | Anne Haverty | download". af.booksc.eu.
  11. ^ O'Connor, Conleth (9 February 1976). "Trinities: A Collection of Poems". Profile Press – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Trinities: A Collection of Poems – via www.kennys.ie.
  13. ^ "The Judas Cry - Ulysses Rare Books". rarebooks.ie. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  14. ^ Faragó, Borbála (27 March 2014). Medbh McGuckian. Bucknell University Press. ISBN 9781611485646 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ O'Connor, Conleth (9 February 1987). A Corpse Auditions Its Mourners. Raven Arts Press. ISBN 9781851860180 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ O'Connor, Conleth (9 February 1997). Nights Without Stars, Days Without Sun. Arc Publications. ISBN 9781900072052 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ "Conleth O'Connor - Playwright". www.doollee.com.
  18. ^ "Aosdána". aosdana.artscouncil.ie.
  19. ^ ""It isn't the despair that gets to me, it's the hope"". The Irish Times.