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Frank Delaney | |
|---|---|
 Delaney in March 2008 | |
| Born | (1942-10-24)24 October 1942 Thomastown,County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Died | 21 February 2017(2017-02-21) (aged 74) Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist, broadcaster |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Notable works | Ireland The Matchmaker of Kenmare Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea Tipperary Shannon The Amethysts James Joyce's Odyssey The Celts (BBC) Goodbye, Mr. Chips (screenplay) |
| Spouse | Eilish Kelliher, Susan Collier,Salley Vickers, Dana Mayer |
| Children | Frank, Bryan, Owen |
Francis James Joseph Raphael Delaney (24 October 1942 – 21 February 2017)[1] was anIrish novelist, journalist and broadcaster.[2] He was the author ofThe New York Times best-sellerIreland,[3] the non-fiction bookSimple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea and many other works of fiction, non-fiction and collections.[4]
Delaney was born in Thomastown,County Tipperary, Ireland, on 24 October 1942. His father, Edward, was the principal of the national school in Thomastown; his mother, Elizabeth Josephine O'Sullivan, was a teacher at the school.[5]
Delaney began working as a newsreader for the Irish state radio and television networkRTÉ in 1970. In the early 1970s he became a news reporter for theBBC in Dublin, and covered an intense period of violence known asthe Troubles. After five years of reporting on the violence, he moved to London to work in arts broadcasting. In 1978 he created the weeklyBookshelf programme forBBC Radio 4, which covered books, writers and the business of publishing. Over the next five-and-a-half years he interviewed over 1,400 authors, includingAnthony Burgess,John Updike,Margaret Atwood,Christopher Isherwood andStephen King.[6][dead link]
On television, Delaney wrote and presented forOmnibus, the BBC's weekly arts series. He served as the Literature Director of theEdinburgh Festival in 1980, and hosted his own talk showFrank Delaney in the early 1980s, which featured many cultural and literary personalities. He later created and presentedWord of Mouth, the BBC's radio programme about language, as well as a variety of radio and television documentaries including specials onJames Joyce,Robert Graves,Ernest Hemingway in Paris, and the Shakespeare industry. He presentedThe Book Show on theSky News satellite channel for many years.[citation needed]
Delaney said in a 2014 interview that he had wanted to be a novelist since childhood. “I’ve always relished the power of the tale,” he said, “how it grabs us and then absorbs us, and casts a spell over us, and teaches us."[5] His first book,James Joyce's Odyssey (1981), was well received and became a best-seller in the UK and Ireland. He wrote and presented the six-part documentary seriesThe Celts (1987) for the BBC, and wrote the accompanying book.[citation needed] He subsequently wrote five books of non-fiction (includingSimple Courage), ten novels (includingIreland,Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show andTipperary), one novella, and a number of short stories. He also edited many compilations of essays and poetry.
Delaney wrote the screenplay for an adaptation ofGoodbye, Mr. Chips (2002), which starredMartin Clunes and was shown on ITV in Britain, and in theMasterpiece Theatre series in the United States.[7] His articles were published by newspapers in United States, the UK and Ireland, including on the Op-ed pages ofThe New York Times.[3] He was a frequent public speaker, and was a contributor and guest onNPR programmes.
OnBloomsday 2010, Delaney launchedRe:Joyce, a series of short weekly podcasts that went page-by-page throughJames Joyce'sUlysses, discussing its allusions, historical context and references.
Delaney lived in Ireland, England and the USA. He was married firstly to Eilish Kelliher, with whom he had three sons. He was subsequently married to Susan Collier,Salley Vickers, and Dana Mayer.
Frank Delaney died on 21 February 2017 at the age of 74 in Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA.
