# Walter Macken

Walter Macken (3 May 1915 – 22 April 1967; Irish: Uaitéar Ó Maicín), was born in Galway, Ireland. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays.

## Biography

Walter Macken was originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc (where he met his wife, Peggy) in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He also played lead roles on Broadway in M. J. Molloy's The King of Friday's Men and his own play Home Is the Hero. The success of his third book, Rain on the Wind (winner of the Literary Guild award in the USA), enabled him to focus his energies on writing. He also acted in films, notably in Arthur Dreifuss' adaptation of Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy of Irish historical novels Seek the Fair Land, The Silent People and The Scorching Wind.
In September 1966 he moved to the small Gaeltacht village of Menlo in County Galway. Many of Macken's works are rooted in the Galway area of Connemara. He died suddenly at home on 22 April 1967 and was survived by his wife and two sons. His son Ultan Macken is a well-known journalist in the print and broadcast media of Ireland, and wrote a biography of his father, Walter Macken: Dreams on Paper.

## List of works
### Plays

* Mungo's Mansion (Macmillan, 1946)
* Vacant Possession (Macmillan, 1948)
* Home is the Hero (Macmillan, 1952)
* Twilight is the Warrior (Macmillan, 1956)

### Novels

* Quench the Moon (Macmillan, 1948)
* I Am Alone (Macmillan, 1949)
* Rain on the Wind (London, MacMillan, 1950)
* The Bogman (MacMillan, 1952)
* Sunset on the Window Panes (Macmillan, 1954)
* Sullivan (Macmillan, 1957)
* Seek the Fair Land (MacMillan, 1959)
* The Silent People (MacMillan, 1962)
* The Scorching Wind (MacMillan, 1964)
* Brown Lord of the Mountain (Macmillan, 1966)
Two further novels, 'And then No More' (1946) and 'Cockles and Mustard' (1947) remain unpublished.

### Novels for children

Macken wrote some 5 collections of short stories for children, and also:
* Island of the Great Yellow Ox (MacMillan, 1966)
* Flight of the Doves (MacMillan, 1963), which was adapted for the cinema.

### Short story collections

* The Green Hills (MacMillan, 1956)
* Gaeglers and the Wild Geese
* The Currach Race
* The Gauger
* The Young Turk
* The Proud Man
* The Green Hills
* Barney's Maggie
* The Sailor
* The Hurling Match
* Duck Soup
* The Fair Lady
* The Lady and the Tom
* The Atheist
* The Wasteland
* Tuesday's Children
* Hallmarked
* The Eyes of the Cat
* Foreign Fish
* The Boy and the Brace
* The River
* The King
* God Made Sunday and other Stories (Macmillan, 1962)
* God Made Sunday
* Patter O'Rourke
* The Big Fish
* Solo and the Nine Irons
* The Match Maiden
* The Conjugator
* Solo and the Simpleton
* Light in the Valley
* This Was My Day
* Solo and the Sinner
* No Medal for Matt
* The Red Rager
* The Lion
* The Coll Doll and other Stories (Macmillan, 1969)
* The Coll Doll
* The Currach Race*
* Duck Soup*
* The Kiss
* Characters in Order of Appearance
* Gaeglers and the Wild Geese*
* The Wasteland*
* The Fair Lady*
* The Eyes of the Cat*
* A Talk in the Dark
* My Neighbour
* Foreign Fish*
* The Hurling Match*
* The Green Hills*
* Tuesday's Children*
* The Lady and the Tom*
* Janey is a Girl
* Barney's Maggie*
* The Dreamer
* The River*
* Three Witnesses
* Previously published in The Green Hills (MacMillan, 1956)
* City of the Tribes (Brandon, 1997)
* Ambition
* Battle
* The Passing of the Black Swan
* New Clothes for the Giolla
* Dad
* Deputy Johnny
* Tail of a Kid
* Saga
* Dovetail and the Turkey
* Homecoming
* Homing Salmon
* Spanish Joe
* Colm comes to the Citie
* The Citie
* An Act of Charity
* Pugnug
* The New Broom
* Gaeglers and the Greyhound
* The Grass of the People (Brandon, 1998)
* The Grass of the People
* What will we do with the Yanks
* Solo and the Sailor
* This Was My Day**
* The Storm is Still
* How to Poach a Salmon
* Sukos
* The Mare with Foal at Foot
* The Green Dream
* Challenge the River
* The Tangler
* The Bachelor
* The Coll Doll*
* The Kiss*
* Characters in Order of Appearance*
* A Talk in the Dark*
* My Neighbour*
* Jane is a Girl*
* The Dreamer*
* Three Witnesses*
* Previously published in The Coll Doll and other Stories (Macmillan, 1969)
** Previously published in God Made Sunday and other Stories (Macmillan, 1962)

### Filmography

* Flight of the Doves (1971)
* The Quare Fellow (1962)
* Home Is the Hero (1959)