orig. John Francis Whelan
born Feb. 22, 1900, Cork, County Cork, Ire.
died April 20, 1991, Dublin
Irish writer.
He became involved in anti-British activities during the Irish insurrection (1918–21) and taught (1926–33). After achieving success with his first story collection, Midsummer Night Madness (1932), and the novel A Nest of Simple Folk (1933), he wrote full-time. He is known for carefully crafted, lyrical short stories about Ireland's lower and middle classes, often examining the decline of the nationalist struggle or the oppressive provincialism of Irish Catholicism. His other works include Bird Alone (1936), A Life of Daniel O'Connell (1938), and Vive moi! (1964), his autobiography.