Frank O'Connor Video | Book Interviews

Frank O’Connor (born Michael Francis O'Connor O'Donovan) (17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author of over 150 works, best known for his short stories and memoirs. Raised in Cork, the only child of Minnie O'Connor and Michael O'Donovan, he attended school in the famous North Monastery CBS. O'Connor's early life was marked by his father's alcoholism, debt, and ill-treatment of his mother. O'Connor's childhood was shaped in part by his mother, who supplied much of the family's income because his father was unable to keep steady employment due to his drunkenness. In 1918... MORE

Frank O’Connor (born Michael Francis O'Connor O'Donovan) (17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author of over 150 works, best known for his short stories and memoirs. Raised in Cork, the only child of Minnie O'Connor and Michael O'Donovan, he attended school in the famous North Monastery CBS. O'Connor's early life was marked by his father's alcoholism, debt, and ill-treatment of his mother. O'Connor's childhood was shaped in part by his mother, who supplied much of the family's income because his father was unable to keep steady employment due to his drunkenness. In 1918 O'Connor joined the First Brigade of the Irish Republican Army and served in combat during the Irish War of Independence. He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and joined the Anti-Treaty IRA during the Irish Civil War, working in a small propaganda unit in Cork City. He was one of twelve thousand Anti-Treaty combatants who were interned by the government of the new Irish Free State, O'Connor's imprisonment being in Gormanston, County Meath between 1922 and 1923. Following his release, O'Connor took various positions including that of teacher of Irish, theatre director, and librarian. In 1935, LESS