Walter Macken Explained

Walter Macken (3 May 1915 – 22 April 1967;^[1] Irish:), was born in Galway, Ireland. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays.

Biography

Walter Macken was originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc (where he met his wife, Peggy)^[2] in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He also played lead roles on Broadway in M. J. Molloy's The King of Friday's Men^[3] and his own play Home Is the Hero. The success of his third book, Rain on the Wind (winner of the Literary Guild award in the USA),^[4] enabled him to focus his energies on writing. He also acted in films, notably in Arthur Dreifuss' adaptation of Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy of Irish historical novels Seek the Fair Land, The Silent People and The Scorching Wind.^[5]

In September 1966 he moved to the small Gaeltacht village of Menlo in County Galway. He died suddenly at home on 22 April 1967 and was survived by his wife and two sons.^[6] His son Ultan Macken is a well-known journalist in the print and broadcast media of Ireland, and wrote a biography of his father, Walter Macken: Dreams on Paper.^[7]

List of works

Plays

• Mungo's Mansion (Macmillan, 1946)
• Vacant Possession (Macmillan, 1948)
• Home is the Hero (Macmillan, 1952)
• Twilight is the Warrior (Macmillan, 1956)

Novels

• Quench the Moon (Macmillan, 1948)
• I Am Alone (Macmillan, 1949)
• Rain on the Wind (London, MacMillan, 1950)
• The Bogman (MacMillan, 1952)
• Sunset on the Window Panes (Macmillan, 1954)
• Sullivan (Macmillan, 1957)
• Seek the Fair Land (MacMillan, 1959)
• The Silent People (MacMillan, 1962)
• The Scorching Wind (MacMillan, 1964)
• Brown Lord of the Mountain (Macmillan, 1966)

Two further novels, 'And then No More' (1946) and 'Cockles and Mustard' (1947) remain unpublished.

Novels for children

Macken wrote some 5 collections of short stories for children, and also:

• Island of the Great Yellow Ox (MacMillan, 1966)
• Flight of the Doves (MacMillan, 1963), which was adapted for the cinema.

Short story collections

• The Green Hills (MacMillan, 1956)

• God Made Sunday and other Stories (Macmillan, 1962)

• The Coll Doll and other Stories (Macmillan, 1969)

• City of the Tribes (Brandon, 1997)

• The Grass of the People (Brandon, 1998)

Filmography

• Flight of the Doves (1971)
• The Quare Fellow (1962)
• Home Is the Hero (1959)

External links

• • Entry at Irish Writers Online
• Website for Walter Macken

Notes and References

1. Web site: Walter Macken. IMDb.
2. Web site: Walter Macken Playwright Walter Macken Writer Walter Macken Galway City Ireland. galwaycity.galway-ireland.ie.
3. Web site: The King of Friday's Men: Cast (Playbill) .
4. http://www.waltermacken.com/life.php Biographic details of Walter Macken at waltermacken.com
5. Web site: Biography of Walter Macken at irishwriters-online.com.
6. Web site: Macken, Walter . Hourican, Bridget . October 2009 . Dictionary of Irish Biography . 30 March 2023 .
7. Web site: review. I Am Alone – [Walter Macken:] Dreams on Paper, by Ultan Macken ]. Robert Allen . November 2009 . www.bluegreenearth.com.