Another Irish Connection.

The following is a small extract from chapter 1 of Flann O’Brien’s novel, At Swim-Two-Birds:

Whether in or out, I always kept the door of my bedroom locked. This made my movements a matter of some secrecy and enabled me to spend an inclement day in bed without disturbing my uncle’s assumption that I had gone to the college to attend to my studies. A contemplative life has always been suitable to my disposition.

I regard Flann O’Brien as one of Ireland’s most notable personages, and that extract goes some way to explaining why. Both style and content are eminently suitable to my own disposition. Accordingly, I like to imagine that I, too, might think of myself as one of Ireland’s notable personages, albeit around five generations removed.

And isn’t it interesting that some of the best writers of English prose were Irish? Did you know that Charlotte Brontë – she whose prose style might be likened to the finest Cognac – was half Irish? You do now.