 First edition | |
| Author | Elizabeth O'Conner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Angus and Robertson, Australia |
Publication date | 1960 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 318pp |
| Preceded by | – |
| Followed by | Find a Woman |
The Irishman (1960) is a novel by Australian author Elizabeth O'Conner. [1] It won the 1960 Miles Franklin Award. [2]
The novel follows the experiences of Paddy Doolan, an Irish horse wagoner and his son Michael in the Gulf Country of north-eastern Australia. [3] It is set in the early 1920s when horse-drawn transport was challenged by the advent of motor vehicles and aircraft—change which Doolan cannot accept. [4]
Lisa Hill on the ANZLitLovers Litblog noted: "O’Conner won the prize in 1960, in the years of postwar prosperity and well before the Swinging Sixties challenged long-established mores across the globe. Cities in Australia were being transformed by post-war immigration from Europe and by the growth in manufacturing which was driven by the sudden availability of cheap labour. The Irishman, however, explores a different period of transition. O’Conner was writing about what was already a vanished era – the inter-war years when bush life was being transformed by the arrival of the motor-vehicle in the early 1920s. While at one level it’s an engaging coming-of-age story, it is also the story of a remote community confronting decline." [4]
In 1978, the book was adapted for the screen and directed by Donald Crombie in a film of the same name. The film featured Michael Craig, Simon Burke and Robyn Nevin in the lead roles.
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2016, the award is valued at A$60,000.
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