John McGahern, celebrated author

DUBLIN – John McGahern, the Irish writer known for semi-autobiographical portraits of rural life and widely praised as one of Ireland’s greatest novelists, has died.

McGahern (71) published six novels, four collections of short stories and, last year, his non-fiction ‘Memoir.’ All reflected his upbringing in impoverished County Roscommon: a world dominated by grief for his mother, who died of cancer when he was just 8, and the twin tyrannies of the Roman Catholic Church and his father, a police sergeant who savagely beat the boy and his five sisters. McGahern’s second novel, ‘The Dark’, published in 1965, was banned in Ireland and denounced from the pulpit as pornographic.He was forced to quit his job as a teacher in a Catholic high school and left Ireland, but resettled five years later near his childhood home by a lakeside in County Leitrim bordering Northern Ireland.There he wrote his two most celebrated works, ‘Amongst Women’ – nominated for Britain’s Booker Prize in 1990 – and ‘That They May Face the Rising Sun’ in 2002.”John was one of Ireland’s finest writers ever,” Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said.”His beautiful use of language in telling and retelling the stories of his time and place are the enduring testimony of his life and his talent.””John made an enormous contribution to our self-understanding as a people,” said Irish President Mary McAleese.”His work often pitched him into a place of some discomfort, not only for himself but for the reader also.His was a challenging voice yet not without compassion, a voice that spoke of his great and honest love for his country and its people.”- Nampa-APMcGahern’s second novel, ‘The Dark’, published in 1965, was banned in Ireland and denounced from the pulpit as pornographic.He was forced to quit his job as a teacher in a Catholic high school and left Ireland, but resettled five years later near his childhood home by a lakeside in County Leitrim bordering Northern Ireland.There he wrote his two most celebrated works, ‘Amongst Women’ – nominated for Britain’s Booker Prize in 1990 – and ‘That They May Face the Rising Sun’ in 2002.”John was one of Ireland’s finest writers ever,” Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said.”His beautiful use of language in telling and retelling the stories of his time and place are the enduring testimony of his life and his talent.””John made an enormous contribution to our self-understanding as a people,” said Irish President Mary McAleese.”His work often pitched him into a place of some discomfort, not only for himself but for the reader also.His was a challenging voice yet not without compassion, a voice that spoke of his great and honest love for his country and its people.”- Nampa-AP