Bryan [Michael] MacMahon
MacMahon, Bryan [Michael] (1909-1998), writer of fiction; born in Listowel, Co. Kerry, and educated at St Patrick's College before becoming a national schoolteacher and eventually headmaster in Listowel. Issued as The Lion Tamer (1948), his first stories reflect his appreciation of rural life. Children of the Rainbow (1952), an ambitious novel evoking the energy and colour of North Kerry, was followed by The Red Petticoat (1955), a further collection of stories. A play, The Bugle in the Blood (1949), was produced at the Abbey Theatre, where The Song of the Anvil (1960) also appeared. The Honey Spike (staged at the Abbey in 1961), is based on his understanding of Irish tinkers and their way of life. It was rewritten as a novel in 1967. The End of the World (1976) and The Sound of Hooves (1985) are collections of psychologically complex stories underpinned by a sense of the power of nature to heal and to console. An autobiography, The Master (1992), was followed by a further short-story collection, The Tallystick (1994).
