In a writing career spanning more than fifty years, Sean O'Faolain has established himself as one of Ireland's most distinguished men of letters. Although best known for his short stories, he has also earned a reputation as a novelist, biographer, critic, and editor. Like James Joyce, he found much to criticize in Ireland, but, unlike Joyce, who criticized the country from a distance, he chose to remain on the scene, observing and analyzing Irish life in his biographies, short stories, and novels. As an editor he strove to uphold Ireland's literary standards by instructing an apathetic public in critical values, encouraging a generation of younger writers, and waging a persistent campaign against censorship.

O'Faolain was born John Francis Whelan on Half Moon Street in Cork, the third son of Denis and Bridget Murphy Whelan. His father was a constable in the Royal Irish Constabulary, and his mother supplemented...