Jamie O'Neill

This article is about the Irish author. For the country music singer, see Jamie O'Neal. For the snooker player, see Jamie O'Neill (snooker player).

Jamie O'Neill
Born (1962-01-01) 1 January 1962 (age 62)
Dún Laoghaire, Ireland
OccupationNovelist
NationalityIrish
EducationPresentation College, Glasthule, County Dublin, Ireland
PeriodEarly 21st century
GenreHistorical fiction
SubjectAdolescence, colonialism, conflict, death, homosexuality, lust, good and evil, religion, sin, war
Literary movementStream of consciousness
Notable worksAt Swim, Two Boys
Notable awardsFerro-Grumley Award for Fiction, Lambda Literary Award
Website
www.iol.ie/~atswim/

Jamie O'Neill (born 1 January 1962) is an Irish author. His critically acclaimed novel, At Swim, Two Boys (2001), earned him the highest advance ever paid for an Irish novel and frequent praise as the natural successor to James Joyce, Flann O'Brien and Samuel Beckett. He is currently living in Gortachalla in County Galway, having previously lived and worked in England for two decades.

O'Neill's work follows the imaginative route in Irish literature, unlike his realist contemporaries such as Colm Tóibín or John McGahern.[1] Terry Pender commented on At Swim, Two Boys: "With only this work O'Neill can take his rightful place among the great Irish writers beginning with Joyce and ending with Roddy Doyle".[2]

  1. ^ "A date with history". Lambda Book Report. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2002.
  2. ^ Pender, Terry (1 December 2001). "Remarkable debut novel tips hat to James Joyce". The Record – Kitchener, Ont. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2001.