Joseph O'Connor
Joseph Victor O'Connor (born 20 September 1963) is an Irish novelist. His 2002 historical novel "Star of the Sea" was an international number one bestseller. Before success as an author, he was a journalist with the "Sunday Tribune" newspaper and "Esquire magazine". He is a regular contributor to Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and a member of the Irish artists' association Aosdána. Early life. Eldest of five children and brother of singer Sinéad O'Connor, he is from the Glenageary area of south Dublin. His parents are Sean O'Connor, a structural engineer later turned barrister, and Marie O'Connor. Educated at  Blackrock College, O'Connor graduated from University College Dublin with an M.A. in Anglo-Irish Literature. He did post-graduate work at Oxford University and received a second M.A. from Leeds Metropolitan University's Northern School of Film and Television in screenwriting. In the late 1980s, he worked for the British Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign; his second novel, "Desperadoes", drew on his experiences in revolutionary Nicaragua. Career. O'Connor's novel "Cowboys and Indians" (1991) was on the shortlist for the Whitbread Prize. On 10 February 1985 his mother was killed in a car accident. He had the mother of the character Sweeney  in "The Salesman" (1998) die in such a manner. In 2002, he wrote the novel "Star of the Sea," which "The Economist" listed as one of the top books of 2003. His 2010 novel, "Ghost Light" is loosely based on the life of the actress Maire O'Neill, born Mary "Molly" Allgood, and her relationship with the Irish playwright John Millington Synge. It was published by Harvill Secker of London in 2010. O'Connor has been a Research Fellow at the New York Public Library and Visiting Professor of Creative Writing/Writer in Residence at Baruch College, the City University of New  York. In 2014, he was announced as the inaugural Frank McCourt Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick, where he teaches on the MA in Creative Writing. He was a regular contributor to "Drivetime", an evening news and current affairs programme on RTÉ Radio 1. O'Connor's latest book, "Shadowplay", published in 2019, was shortlisted for the 2019 Costa book prize in the Novel category. Personal life. O'Connor is married to the television and film writer Anne-Marie Casey. They have two sons. He and his family have lived in London and Dublin, and from time to time  in Manhattan during his work in New York City.