Before becoming a primary school teacher, he attended St. Patrick's Teacher Training College in Dublin. McGahern was unhappy with his first novel, The End and the Beginning of Love, and opted not to publish it. Instead, he wrote six more novels which he published between 1983 and 1996. He died in January 2006 at the age of 58. McGahern worked as a primary school teacher in County Donegal, Ireland from 1970 to 1976 when he began writing full time. His books are set in his native county. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. John McGahern went to school in Ireland to be a novelist. His novels are set in his home country of Ireland and focus on its people, particularly those living in rural areas. Two of his novels have been made into films: Dancing at Doonlodge (2002) and The Sea Horse (2009). McGahern's work is characterized by its realism and attention to detail. He often used himself as a narrator for his own stories. His novels usually feature several main characters who live in Donegal, a remote region of northern Ireland that is one of its least populated counties. There they struggle against poverty, alcoholism, drug addiction, and violence. However, they also experience great joy and happiness in their lives.