MACKEN, WALTER

born 1915, Galway, Ire. died April 22, 1967, Galway Irish novelist and dramatist whose tales combine an honest and often harsh reflection of the realities of Irish life with a love of Ireland and a compassionate respect for its people. Macken was an actor and stage manager in Galway, where he became actor-manager-director of the Gaelic Theatre. He was also connected with the famous Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Macken's novel Rain on the Wind (1950), a story of Galway life, was popular in Europe and in the United States. He later wrote a trilogy of historical novels, including Seek the Fair Land (1959), set in Cromwellian Ireland; The Silent People (1962), depicting the great Irish potato famine; and The Scorching Wind (1964), which brought the story up to the present day. As a dramatist Macken is chiefly known for Mungo's Mansion, performed in 1946 at the Abbey Theatre and in 1947 in London as Galway Handicap. Macken also wrote Home is the Hero, which was produced by the Abbey Theatre and published in 1953.