Banim, John (1798–1842) and Michael (1796–1874)

Irish writers. The brothers' joint work Tales by the O'Hara Family was the first to chronicle Irish peasant life, agrarian unrest, and the violence to which it led. Written somewhat in the manner of Walter Scott's Waverley novels, the stories mirror the views of the Irish Catholic peasantry and emerging middle class in the period leading up to Catholic emancipation. Begun in 1822, they include the trilogy Crohoore of the Bill-hook, The Fetches, and John Doe (1825); and The Nowlans and Peter at the Castle (1826).

They were born in Kilkenny, sons of a farmer and shopkeeper. John studied art at the academy of the Royal Dublin Society and taught drawing in Kilkenny before moving to Dublin in 1820, where he published ‘The Celts' Paradise’ (1821), a long poem based on Irish folklore. His drama Turgesius, set in Viking Dublin, could not find a patron, but the great success of his tragedy Damon and Pythias (1828) at Covent Garden encouraged the brothers to move for a time to London. His other works include The Boyne Water (1826), a story of the Williamite War and its political consequence, and The Anglo-Irish of the Nineteenth Century (1828), a satirical novel comparing the declining Protestant dominance with the rising Catholic democracy led by Daniel O'Connell.

Michael abandoned legal studies in order to save his father's failing business, but responded enthusiastically to John's suggested collaboration over Tales by the O'Hara Family in 1822. He also conducted research for his brother's historical novels; his own historical works include The Croppy (1828), which deals with the Rebellion of 1798. Later novels include Clough Finn (1852) and Town of the Cascades (1864). In 1865 he published the collected works of Tales by the O'Hara Family, an edition produced by the Dublin publisher James Duffy.