Donn Byrne

Born in New York City on November 20, 1889, he was raised in Camlough, County Armagh, and grew up fluent in both Irish and English. He studied at Trinity College Dublin, where his writing began to appear in print, and later returned to New York, working on reference books before building a career as a fiction writer.

His poem "The Piper" appeared in Harper's, and his first short stories were published soon after. Collections such as Stories Without Women and novels including The Stranger's Banquet helped establish him as a prolific Irish author with a strong feel for history, place, and dramatic storytelling.

Success did not always bring financial ease, and after time in the United States he and his family returned to Ireland. He later lived at Coolmain Castle in County Cork, where he remained until his death in a car accident on June 18, 1928. He was only 38, but he left behind a body of work that kept his name alive with readers of Irish fiction.