MacNamara, Brinsley (1890-1963)

Irish writer and dramatist. Born in Devlin, County Westmeath, MacNamara lived most of his life in Dublin and was long associated with the Abbey Theatre as an actor and director. His first novel The Valley of the Squinting Windows (1918), which is representative of his critical portrayal of romantic notions of Irish rural life, caused such negative reactions that boycotts and litigation resulted. Disillusionment remained a key tone to his plays and novels, such as The Clanking of Chains (1920) and Mirror in the Dusk (1921). His later novels, such as The Various Lives of Marcus Igoe (1929), show an experimentation with fantasy and dream states unexpressed in his earlier work.

MacNamara began his career acting with the Abbey Theatre and toured with them to the USA in 1911, remaining as a freelance actor until 1913. His first play The Rebellion in Ballycullion was produced by the Abbey, and he continued to work for them throughout his life, although a brief period as director ended with his resignation over the theatre's rejection of Seán O'Casey's The Silver Tassie (1928).