Sebastian Barry

Sebastian Barry is an Irish novelist, playwright, and poet widely regarded as one of Ireland's foremost living writers. Born in Dublin in 1955, he studied at Trinity College Dublin and has written across forms, producing an interconnected body of fiction and drama that revisits Irish history through the lives of fictional families — most notably the Dunne and McNulty clans. His novels include The Secret Scripture (2008), winner of the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Booker Prize; On Canaan's Side (2012), which won the Walter Scott Prize; Days Without End (2016), which also won the Walter Scott Prize (making him the only author to win that prize twice), the Costa Novel Award, and the Walter Scott Prize; and A Long Long Way (2005) and The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty (1998). His plays have been equally acclaimed, including The Steward of Christendom. Barry's work is distinctive for its lyrical prose and for its willingness to explore neglected chapters of Irish history — from the Great Famine to the Civil War and the institutional abuse of the twentieth century. He served as Ireland's Laureate for Fiction from 2019 to 2021.