Tributes have been paid to acclaimed Irish novelist Edna O’Brien who has died aged 93.
President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said she was “one of the outstanding writers of modern times” while Irish premier Simon Harris said Ireland had “lost an icon”.
The author died peacefully on Saturday following a long illness, a statement from her agent and publishing house said.
“Our thoughts are with her family and friends, in particular her sons Marcus and Carlo.”
Statement by President Michael D. Higgins on the death of Edna O’Brien https://t.co/UUfpbBK75N pic.twitter.com/nqxIE2XGQF
— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) July 28, 2024
O’Brien – a novelist, short story writer, memoirist, poet and playwright – is best known for her portrayal of women’s lives against repressive expectations in Irish society.
Her first novel, The Country Girls, was published in 1960 and became part of a trilogy that was banned in Ireland for their references to sex and social issues.
O’Brien, who has lived in London since 1958, described an outraged response from people in Ireland in contrast to the book’s international success.
Mr Higgins praised O’Brien as a “fearless” and “superb” writer who possessed “the moral courage to confront Irish society with realities long ignored and suppressed”.
“Through that deeply insightful work, rich in humanity, Edna O’Brien was one of the first writers to provide a true voice to the experiences of women in Ireland in their different generations and played an important role in transforming the status of women across Irish society.
“While the beauty of her work was immediately recognised abroad, it is important to remember the hostile reaction it provoked among those who wished for the lived experience of women to remain far from the world of Irish literature, with her books shamefully banned upon their early publication.”
“She wrote her debut novel The Country Girls in just three weeks. Sixty-four years on it is not only a remarkable piece of work but still a landmark moment for Irish women and society,” he said.
“The book would be banned and burned but Edna O’Brien would never be silenced.
“Most people would have stopped and hidden away from the misogyny she faced, but Edna O’Brien kept working on her artistry and became one of modern Ireland’s most celebrated and honoured writers.”
He added: “Edna said that her writing was her breathing and in recent years while promoting her novel Girl she told interviewers ‘I want to go out as someone who spoke the truth’.
With the passing of Edna O’Brien, Ireland has lost one of its greatest writers.
A gifted story teller, Edna was a modernising force in Irish society who fearlessly advanced the cause of equality.
My deepest sympathies to her family and many friends
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam pic.twitter.com/3pFDXKU8Dj
— Catherine Martin TD (@cathmartingreen) July 28, 2024
Publishing house Faber described O’Brien as “one of the greatest writers of our age”.
“She revolutionised Irish literature, capturing the lives of women and the complexities of the human condition in prose that was luminous and spare, and which had a profound influence on so many writers who followed her.
“A defiant and courageous spirit, Edna constantly strove to break new artistic ground, to write truthfully, from a place of deep feeling.
“The vitality of her prose was a mirror of her zest for life: she was the very best company, kind, generous, mischievous, brave.
“Edna was a dear friend to us all, and we will miss her dreadfully. It is Faber’s huge privilege to publish her, and her bold and brilliant body of work lives on.”
Her agent Caroline Michel at PFD said: “In Girl With Green Eyes, the immortal centrepiece of the masterful Country Girls trilogy, Edna writes: ‘We all leave one another. We die… If I do leave you, I will have passed on to you something of myself; you will be a different person because of knowing me; it’s inescapable.’
“Edna is inescapable… once read, once met, she is forever rebelliously and joyously in your life.”
O’Brien was a member of Aosdana, an Irish association of elite artists, and was presented with the association’s highest honour, the Torc of the Saoi, in 2015.
She was also presented with a Presidential Distinguished Service Award in 2018 as well as several literary and arts awards in Ireland, the UK and France.
