Sebastian Barry's Life
Whereas Booker contender John Banville was born in Wicklow and lives in Dublin, Sebastian Barry was born in Dublin and lives in County Wicklow.
Sebastian Barry was born on 5 July 1955 in Dublin and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, before taking up a succession of academic posts.
Barry has achieved a strong reputation as a playwright. In particular, his play The Steward of Christendom (1995), won several prestigious awards.
Barry's debut novel was The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty, which was published in 1998.
Sebastian Barry is a versatile writer and as well as novels and plays, has also written poetry and a novel for children.
Fintan O'Toole in The Guardian has compared Barry to Dermot Bolger in their "construction of alternative histories by using fiction to call to mind aspects of Irish reality that have been occluded in official versions of the past."
Sebastian Barry's A Long Long Way
Synopsis: Revolving around the Easter Rising in Ireland and World War 1, A Long Long Way recreates the experience of Willie Dunne, who died aged 21 in October 1918.
The Dunne Family have featured in previous works by Sebastian Barry including the aformentioned play, The Steward of Christendom, and the novel Annie Dunne.