author
J. Irwin (John Irwin) Brown
1858–1937
Best known for turning cross-cultural confusion into comedy, this Irish-born minister wrote lively, affectionate books about an Irishman wrestling with Dutch language and life in Holland. His work blends humor, observation, and the perspective of a preacher who spent much of his career in Rotterdam.
2 Audiobooks
An Irishman's Difficulties with the Dutch Language
by J. Irwin (John Irwin) Brown
The Further Adventures of O'Neill in Holland
by J. Irwin (John Irwin) Brown
About the author
Born in Limavady, County Londonderry, on October 3, 1858, John Irwin Brown was an Irish Presbyterian minister and writer. He studied in Galway and Belfast, and in January 1887 he was installed at the Scots Church in Rotterdam, where he served for many years.
As an author, he is closely associated with the pen name Cuey-na-Gael. Under that name, and as J. Irwin Brown, he wrote works including An Irishman's Difficulties with the Dutch Language and The Further Adventures of O'Neill in Holland, humorous books that play with language barriers and everyday misunderstandings. He also wrote Ireland, Its Humour and Pathos and a short history of the Scots Church in Rotterdam.
Brown's writing has an easy charm: warm, observant, and amused by the oddities of speech and culture without losing sympathy for the people in them. He died in Rotterdam on February 2, 1937.