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Fall 2016 Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies lecture, presented by literary critic and poet Louis de Paor

  • 11/09/2016
  • 4:30 PM
  • Thompson Room, John J. Burns Library, Boston College




Lethal in Two Languages: Flann O'Brien and Máirtín Ó Cadhain

Fall 2016 Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies Lecture

Presented by literary critic and poet Louis de Paor

Wednesday, November 9
4:30 p.m.
Thompson Room, John J. Burns Library
Boston College

A passing reference to Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman in the television series Lost, and new translations of Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille (The Dirty Dust) have generated new interest in the lives and works of two of Ireland’s most accomplished yet neglected writers. Ó Cadhain once boasted that he was lethal in the two official languages of the Irish State, while Flann O’Brien, one of the great comic writers of the 20th century, insisted that many of those he pilloried found him “far from funny.” This talk will focus on some of the parallels and differences between two of Ireland’s most brilliant writers and contrarians, on the historical context in which they emerged, and their contributions to world literature.

The Boston College Libraries and the Center for Irish Programs cordially invite you to attend a reception honoring Louis de Paor in the Burns Library Irish Room immediately following his lecture.

This event is free and open to the public, but please let us know if you plan to attend by registering here.

For more information about de Paor and his work, please visit the Burns Library website

For further information about the lecture, including directions and parking, please call 617-552-3282.


Photo: Realia from the Flann O'Brien Papers, John J. Burns Library, Boston College. Photo by Gary Wayne Gilbert, 2009. 



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