The Listowel writer Mr Bryan MacMahon has died aged 88. He had been ill since September. His friend and fellow playwright Mr John B. Keane, also from Listowel, said last night the town would "never be the same again".
Mr MacMahon, who died yesterday in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, was a poet, short story writer, balladeer and playwright and a member of the Irish Academy of Letters. He was predeceased by his wife, Kitty, and is survived by five sons.
A retired schoolteacher, his first book of short stories, The Lion Tamer and Other Stories, was published in 1942. His first play, The Bugle in the Blood, was produced in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, seven years later.
Two of his best-known plays, The Song of the Anvil and The Honey Spike, were both produced by the Abbey in 1961.
He was a close friend of Mr John B. Keane, who said last night: "The streets have lost their star. He was a giant and a gentleman and we were lucky to have had him for so long. I learned everything I know about writing from him. The first prize for poetry I ever received was from Bryan, when I was 10 years of age. He is a great loss".
Mr MacMahon's more recent works included his autobiography, The Master, published in 1992, is a stylish and frank account of his 44 years as a teacher and the "coruscating exchanges" between him and his pupils.
Born in 1909, Mr MacMahon was educated at Listowel Boys' National School, St Michael's College, Listowel and St Patrick's Teachers' Training College in Dublin. He married Catherine (Kitty) Ryan in 1936.
He was a keen follower of Gaelic games and one of the couple's five sons, Garry, played senior football for Kerry. His other interests included angling and beagling.
His remains will be removed from Carroll's funeral home in Listowel to St Mary's Church in the town at 7.30 p.m. tomorrow. The funeral takes place after requiem Mass at 11 o'clock on Monday.
