Brinsley MacNamara
Brinsley MacNamara, born John Weldon on September 6, 1890, in County Westmeath, Ireland, was a significant figure in the landscape of Irish theatre and literature. After moving to Dublin in 1909, he joined the Abbey Theatre as an actor, adopting the stage name Brinsley MacNamara. His literary career began in earnest after his return from a tour in the United States, during which he expressed his critical views on the Abbey Theatre through various writings. MacNamara's novel, "The Valley of the Squinting Windows," received backlash for its unflinching portrayal of rural Irish life, leading to public outrage that affected his family severely.
Throughout his career, he produced multiple successful plays, including "The Glorious Uncertainty" and "Look at the Heffernans!", which remain favorites in Irish theatre. His works often explored themes of rural life, social critique, and the complexities of human relationships. In addition to his playwrighting, MacNamara served as a drama critic for the Irish Times and engaged in various controversies that highlighted his strong opinions on theatrical standards. He was also a founding member of the Irish Academy of Letters and received accolades for his contributions to the arts. Brinsley MacNamara passed away on February 4, 1963, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneer of Irish realism in literature and drama.
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Brinsley MacNamara
Writer
- Born: September 6, 1890
- Birthplace: Hiskenstown, County Westmeath, Ireland
- Died: February 4, 1963
- Place of death: Dublin, Ireland
Biography
Brinsley MacNamara was born John Weldon in Hiskenstown, County Westmeath, Ireland, on September 6, 1890, the son and pupil of James Weldon, a school teacher. The family moved to Delvin in 1905, and MacNamara became fascinated with theater after attending productions of traveling companies. In 1909 he moved to Dublin, where he joined the Abbey Theatre as an actor and adopted the stage name Brinsley MacNamara.
At the Abbey Theatre, MacNamara was invited to join a company touring the United States in 1911 and 1912. When he returned to Dublin, he began writing. Two of his plays were rejected by the Abbey, and in 1913 he wrote a piece for the Irish Independent questioning whether the Abbey Theatre was in decline. He then moved home to Delvin.
In 1918, MacNamara published a novel, The Valley of the Squinting Windows, a harsh look at rural Irish life that incensed the local population. Villagers burned his book in public, ostracized his family, and began a long-term boycott of his father’s school in Ballinvalley that sunk his father into poverty. MacNamara subsequently wrote a play, The Rebellion in Ballycullen, in which a man returns to his village, writes a novel, and is attacked by villagers; in the confusion, his friend, with the symbolic name Gillachrist, is killed. The play was produced at the Abbey Theatre in 1919.
The Land for the People, a satire of a ruthless, greedy landowner who basically steals his land, was produced at the Abbey the following year, but considered too political. MacNamara wrote a romantic comedy, The Glorious Uncertainty, a light satire about love and horse racing that was an overnight success. He went on to write another hit comedy, Look at the Heffernans!, about a matchmaker who arranges marriages for the adult children of a widower. Both plays became perennial favorites at the Abbey. MacNamara returned to his critique of rural life with a well-received revision of The Land for the People in 1927, followed by The Master, another successful play based on his father’s hardship at his school in Ballinvalley.
In the late 1920’s and into the 1930’s, MacNamara returned to writing novels, basing one on an unstaged play, another on William Shakespeare’s Othello. MacNamara was embroiled in several dramatic and controversial tussles over the years. In one incident, he created a fuss over the staging of Sean O’Casey’s play The Silver Tassie. MacNamara wrote a condemnation in which he claimed that his objections to the “vulgar” language of O’Casey’s “worthless” plays were ignored by the Abbey because MacNamara was the only Roman Catholic on the board of directors. As a result of the argument, MacNamara resigned. In 1939, MacNamara became the drama critic for the Irish Times, a position he retained until 1945, when he became involved in a controversy over a negative review he wrote of Thornton Wilder’s play The Skin of Our Teeth. Readers wrote angry letters about MacNamara’s review; MacNamara grew angry that his paper printed them and resigned.
MacNamara’s last staged play, Marks and Mabel, a sequel to Look at the Heffernans produced in 1945,was as popular as its predecessor and was revived in 1950. MacNamara took a position as registrar for the National Gallery of Ireland in 1925, retaining this job until he retired in 1960. He became a founding member of the Irish Academy of Letters in 1932, and he won the Irish Academy award for his play Margaret Gillan. As an actor, playwright, board member, director, novelist, and critic, he is considered an important figure in Irish literary history and one of the pioneers in the new school of Irish realism. He died in Dublin on February 4, 1963.