People like John McGahern

John McGahern (12 November 1934 – 30 March 2006) was an Irish writer and novelist. He is regarded as one of the most important writers of the latter half of the twentieth century.

Known for the detailed dissection of Irish life found in works such as The Barracks, The Dark and Amongst Women, he was hailed by The Observer as "the greatest living Irish novelist" and in its obituary The Guardian described him as "arguably the most important Irish novelist since Samuel Beckett".

Born in Knockanroe about half a mile from Ballinamore, County Leitrim, John McGahern was the eldest child of seven. He was raised alongside his six young siblings on a small farm in Knockanroe. McGahern's mother ran the farm (with some local help) whilst maintaining a job as a primary-school teacher in the local school. His father, a Garda sergeant, lived in the Garda barracks at Cootehall in County Roscommon, distant from his family. McGahern's mother died of cancer in 1944, when John was 10, resulting in the uprooting of the McGahern children to their new home with their father in the Cootehall Garda barracks.