The Great O'Neill: A Biography of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, 1550-1616

Sean Ó'Faoláin was born February 22, 1900 in Cork, Ireland. He attended Lancasterian National School, and later Presentation Brothers, from 1913-18. He entered UCC on a scholarship in 1918 and studied English, French and Latin. He learned Irish at Gaelic League and graduated with English Language and Literature Honors in 1921. Shortly after entering University College, Cork, he joined the Irish Volunteers. He fought in the War of Independence. During the Irish Civil War, he served as Censor for the Cork Examiner and as publicity director for the IRA. After the Republican loss, he received M.A. degrees from the National University of Ireland and from Harvard University where he studied for three years. Ó'Faoláin was a Commonwealth Fellow from 1926 to 1928; and was a Harvard Fellow from 1928 to 1929. From 1929 to 1933 Ó'Faoláin lectured at the Catholic college St Mary's College, at Strawberry Hill in London, England, during which period he wrote his first two books. He published in 1932 his first book, "Midsummer Night Madness," a collection of stories partly based on his Civil War experiences. He returned to his native Ireland. Ó'Faoláin was a member of Aosdána, and was elected Saoi, Aosdána's highest accolade, in 1986. He died in 1991.