author
Liam O'Flaherty
1896–1984
A fierce and vivid voice in 20th-century Irish fiction, this Aran Islands writer brought working people, political conflict, and the raw force of nature onto the page. His stories are often lean and gripping, with a sympathy for outsiders and a sharp eye for violence, poverty, and survival.
2 Audiobooks
The informer
by Liam O'Flaherty
Return of the brute
by Liam O'Flaherty
About the author
Born on Inishmore in the Aran Islands on August 28, 1896, Liam O'Flaherty became one of Ireland's best-known novelists and short-story writers. Reference works describe him as a major figure in Irish literature whose writing mixed harsh realism, psychological insight, satire, and deep feeling for ordinary people.
His fiction often drew on Irish life and conflict, and he was especially known for writing from the perspective of common people rather than the powerful. He is widely associated with left-wing politics in the early part of the 20th century, and that concern for injustice and human struggle runs strongly through his work.
O'Flaherty died in Dublin on September 7, 1984. His writing remains memorable for its energy, moral intensity, and the way it captures both the beauty and the brutality of life.