Sebastian Barry

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Sebastian Barry
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Dublin, Ireland
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OccupationNovelist, playwright
LanguageEnglish
Notable worksThe Steward of Christendom
Annie Dunne
A Long Long Way
The Secret Scripture
On Canaan's Side
Days Without End
Notable awardsJames Tait Black Memorial Prize
2008
Costa Book of the Year
2008, 2017
SpouseAlison Deegan

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Sebastian Barry (born 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2018–2021. The French government named him a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2024.[1] He is considered "one of Ireland’s most acclaimed and accomplished novelists",[2] with "a distinctive place in contemporary Irish culture".[3][4]

Barry's 2005 novel A Long Long Way was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His follow-up novel, 2008's The Secret Scripture, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Costa Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His 2011 novel, On Canaan's Side, was longlisted for the Booker.[5] Days Without End received the 2017 Costa Book of the Year, meaning Barry became the first novelist to win the prestigious prize twice.[6]

Early life and education

Barry was born in Dublin. His mother was acclaimed actress Joan O'Hara.[7] One of Barry's grandfathers belonged to the British Army Corps of Royal Engineers. His other grandfather was a painter, a Nationalist, and a devotee of De Valera.[citation needed]

He was educated at Catholic University School and Trinity College Dublin, where he read English and Latin.[8]

Career

Academia

Barry's academic posts have included Honorary Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa (1984), Heimbold Visiting Professor at Villanova University (2006) and Writer Fellow at Trinity College, Dublin (1995–1996).[9][10][11]

Works

Barry's first literary publication was the novel Macker's Garden in 1982.[12][13] His first play, The Pentagonal Dream, starred Olwen Fouéré and debuted in the Damer Theatre in March 1986.[14][15] This was followed by several books of poetry and a further novel, The Engine of Owl-Light in 1987, before his career as a playwright began with his first play produced in the Abbey Theatre, Boss Grady's Boys, in 1988.[16][17]

Barry's maternal great-grandfather, James Dunne, provided the inspiration for the main character in his most internationally known play, The Steward of Christendom (1995), which won the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize, the Lloyd's Private Banking Playwright of the Year Award and other awards. The main character, named Thomas Dunne in the play, was the chief superintendent of the Dublin Metropolitan Police from 1913 to 1922. He oversaw the area surrounding Dublin Castle until the Irish Free State takeover on 16 January 1922.[18]

Both The Steward of Christendom and the novel The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty (1998) are about the dislocations (physical and otherwise) of loyalist Irish people during the political upheavals of the early 20th century. The title character of the latter work is a young man forced to leave Ireland by his former friends in the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish War.[citation needed]

His novel A Long Long Way was shortlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize, and was selected for Dublin's 2007 One City One Book event.[19] The novel tells the story of Willie Dunne, a young recruit to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers during the First World War. It brings to life the divided loyalty that many Irish soldiers felt at the time following the Easter Rising in 1916. Willie Dunne, son of the fictional Thomas Dunne, first appears as a minor but important character in The Steward of Christendom.[citation needed]

Barry's 2008 novel The Secret Scripture won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction (announced in August 2009), the oldest such award in the UK, the 2008 Costa Book of the Year (announced 27 January 2009),[20] and (in French translation Le testament caché) the 2010 Cezam Prix Littéraire Inter CE.[21] The Secret Scripture was also a favourite to win the 2008 Man Booker Prize, narrowly losing out to Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger.[22]

Barry's play Andersen's English[23] is inspired by children's writer Hans Christian Andersen coming to stay with Charles Dickens and his family in the Kent marshes. Directed by Max Stafford-Clark and produced by Out of Joint and Hampstead Theatre, the play toured in the UK from 11 February to 8 May 2010.[citation needed]

Our Lady of Sligo was directed in 1998 by Max Stafford-Clark at the Royal National Theatre, co−produced by Out of Joint.[24]

On Canaan's Side,[25] Barry's fifth novel, concerns Lily Bere, the sister of the character Willy Dunne from A Long Long Way and the daughter of the character Thomas Dunne from The Steward of Christendom, as she emigrates to the US. The novel was longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize and won the 2012 Walter Scott Prize.[26]

Barry's next novel, The Temporary Gentleman (2014), tells the story of Jack McNulty—an Irishman whose commission in the British army in WWII was never permanent. Sitting in his lodgings in Accra, Ghana, in 1957, he is writing the story of his life with desperate urgency. Barry's novel Days Without End followed in 2016. It won Costa Book of the Year 2017, the Walter Scott Prize, and The Independent Booksellers' Prize, and was longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize.[27]

Barry's 2023 novel, Old God’s Time, was shortlisted for the 2024 International Dublin Literary Award[28] and longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.[29]It won the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in France in 2023.[30]It also received Best Translated Crime Novel 2025 in Sweden.[31]

Personal life

Barry lives in County Wicklow with his wife, actor and screenwriter Alison Deegan.[32]

In 2001, Barry established his personal and professional archive at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin. More than 60 boxes of papers document his diverse writing career and range of creative output, which includes drawings, poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and scripts.[33]

Recognition and awards

Barry was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2009.[34] He is a member of Aosdána, having been elected in 1989.[35] He has been awarded honorary degrees from the University of East Anglia (2010), NUI Galway (2012),[36] and the Open University (2014).[37]

He has an Alumni Award from Trinity College, Dublin, and in 2022 was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College.[38]

Year Title Award Category Result Ref
2005 A Long Long Way Man Booker Prize — Shortlisted
2008 The Secret Scripture Costa Book Awards Novel Won
Book of the Year Won
James Tait Black Memorial Prize — Won
Man Booker Prize — Shortlisted
2010 Cezam Prix Littéraire Inter CE — Won
2011 On Canaan's Side Man Booker Prize — Longlisted
2012 Walter Scott Prize — Won
Days Without End Costa Book Awards Novel Won
Book of the Year Won
Independent Booksellers' Prize — Won
Man Booker Prize — Longlisted
Walter Scott Prize — Won

Works

Poetry

  • The Water Colourist (Dolmen Press, 1983)
  • The Rhetorical Town (Dolmen Press, 1985)
  • Fanny Hawke Goes to the Mainland Forever (Raven Arts Press, 1989)

Fiction

Plays

  • The Pentagonal Dream (1986)
  • Boss Grady's Boys (1988)
  • Prayers of Sherkin (1990)
  • White Woman Street (1992)
  • The Only True History of Lizzie Finn (1995)
  • The Steward of Christendom (1995)
  • Our Lady of Sligo (1998)
  • Hinterland (2002)
  • Whistling Psyche (2004)
  • Fred and Jane (2004)
  • The Pride of Parnell Street (2008)
  • Dallas Sweetman (2008)
  • Tales of Ballycumber (2009)
  • Andersen's English (2010)
  • On Blueberry Hill (2017)

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry is named a Chevalier in France's Ordre des Arts et Lettres". The Irish Times. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry: 'Part of me when I was young would have poisoned the soup of every other writer'". The Irish Times. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry: Family Stories". RTÉ. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry's safe place – watch a clip from the new documentary". RTÉ. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Irvine, Lindesay (26 July 2011). "Man Booker prize 2011 longlist announced". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Costa Book of the Year: Sebastian Barry celebrates second win". BBC News. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Admired and gifted Abbey actor who put family first". The Irish Times. 28 July 2007.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Laureate for Irish Fiction 2018–2021 Sebastian Barry". Dublin UNESCO City of Literature. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry". The International Writing Program (IWP) University of Iowa. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Meet our Past Heimbold Chairs + Sebastian Barry: 2006". Villanova University. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre, Past Fellows". Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry". British Council Literature. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Macker's Garden". First Editions, Antiquarian & Rare Books Dublin. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Pentagonal Dream". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."5 reasons to see on Blueberry Hill by Sebastian Barry". Pavilion Theatre. 31 January 2019.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Premiere, 22 August 1988". The Abbey Theatre. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry | Timeline: Biography". Faber. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dorney, John (15 January 2022). "Today In Irish History – January 16 1922, The Handover Of Dublin Castle – Or Was It?". The Irish Story. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Dublin prepares for big read". The Bookseller. No. 5269. 23 February 2007. p. 41. ISSN 0006-7539.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry wins 2008 Costa Book of the Year". Costa Book Awards. 27 January 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Cezam Prix Littéraire Inter CE". Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cooke, Rachel (21 December 2008). "The Booker prize winner: Aravind Adiga". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Out of Joint". Out of Joint. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Our Lady of Sligo". Bloomsbury. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Review: Fiction: On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry". Irish Independent. 23 July 2011. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Alison Flood (16 June 2012). "Sebastian Barry wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Days Without End by Sebastian Barry". The Booker Prizes. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Wright shortlisted for 2024 Dublin Literary Award". Books+Publishing. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wood, Heloise (1 August 2023). "Indie-heavy Booker longlist has record number of Irish writers for 2023". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  30. ^ https://actualitte.com/article/114593/prix-litteraires/les-prix-du-meilleur-livre-etranger-2023-sont-connus
  31. ^ https://swedenherald.com/article/she-wrote-the-best-detective-story-of-the-year
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The gay son who inspired Sebastian Barry to write his award-winning novel". BBC News. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  33. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry: An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center". norman.hrc.utexas.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  34. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Barry, Sebastian". Royal Society of Literature. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  35. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sebastian Barry revealed as new Laureate for Irish Fiction". The Irish Times. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  36. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."NUI Galway Honours Four Outstanding Individuals with Honorary Degrees". NUI Galway. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  37. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Knox, Kirsty Blake (14 April 2014). "Sebastian Barry honoured by Open University". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  38. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Trinity Monday 2022 – Fellows and scholars". tcd.ie. Trinity College Dublin. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  39. ^ Briefly reviewed in the March 20, 2017 issue of The New Yorker, p.97.

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