by Josie Reaney
I heard about the passing of Edna O’Brien a day after the news broke. I couldn’t believe how understated it all seemed. In my mind, her passing should have graced the headlines as a celebratory tribute to a life of literary legacy, a flash of hope amongst the daily screening of horrors on the ten-o clock news.
Edna was an icon in literature and feminism. She was a figure of non-conformity and a symbol of bravery.
Her novels spoke to many women in a way that they had never been spoken to before, expressing the vulnerability, sexuality, and outrage of the female experience with no qualms or glossing.
In her words, “I’m very, very ruthless.”
Josephine Edna O’Brien was born in Tuamgraney, County Clare in 1930. She dedicated her life to her
writing, releasing over twenty novels. Her childhood was quintessentially Irish, making a permanent and poignant mark on her creative psyche.
Her girlhood in Ireland was bound to the Catholic Church, awash with scenes of pebble dash convents, grey churches, and cold dormitories.
This was intrinsic to Irish culture at the time, with the nation cast under the shadow of the church. The regime of repression and order in which Edna was raised lit the fires of her fearless writing.
O’Brien’s first novel, ‘The Country Girls,’ was released in 1960. Set in Edna’s own county Clare, the book was a raw and controversial portrayal of female sexuality, following the young protagonist through her agonising convent school years and into early adulthood where she longs for her escape to Dublin and fantasises of freedom.
Reflecting on her debut, O’Brien commented “The Country Girls was a bold and honest account of what it was like to be a young woman growing up in rural Ireland, yearning for freedom and romance. It broke silences, and in doing so, it upset many people, but it also gave voice to the unspoken desires and frustrations of a generation of women.”
Banned by the Irish Censorship Board, it seemed O’Brien had started as she meant to go on.
She was cast out by her home country because of her boldness to write freely. In 2006, O’Brien spoke about Irelands reaction to her debut: “The book was denounced from the pulpit, and I was denounced as a jezebel and a corrupter of youth. Copies of the book were publicly burned in my local parish. The response was very violent and very vitriolic, particularly from the Church, and it was deeply painful.”
‘The Country Girls’ explores themes of sex and freedom in a way that only Edna could; with the trepidation of a Catholic woman and the poetry of an Irish writer. Her work soon became known for its frankness, with her debut being particularly authentic in reflecting a frustration and wariness that spoke to generations of Irish women.
Despite the controversy, it followed through as a trilogy, with ‘The Lonely Girl’ (1962) and ‘Girls in their Married Bliss’ (1964) causing similar scandal. It seems much of Ednas talents were lost in the waves of controversy.
Her lyrical prose, poetic descriptions of Irish scenery, and a deep exploration into the thoughts of her characters were largely forgotten in the storms of Catholic frenzy.
Over her lifetime, Edna became accepted as one of the literary greats of Ireland. She continued to
release books, written bravely and beautifully.
Her final novel, ‘Girl’ lays bare the horrific traumas of Nigerian schoolgirls who were abducted, abused, and raped. To tell their harrowing stories, she spent time in Nigeria with the young victims and worked with the charities who supported them.
Here she wished “to give a voice to the voiceless,” much as she did for generations of Irish women
with her debut novel in 1960.
Interviewed as a young woman, she cited her inspirations: “I take from the font of history, place and stories and I make it my own song.”
And that she did. Edna was a literary force to be reckoned with and her mark on feminism is profound.
Of her craft, she has said that “writing is like carrying a foal. You can’t rush it, or you do it damage. It takes time, and it takes faith, and it takes courage.”
Ednas courage has proven endless, leaving a lifetime of work which stands with the literary greats and speaks for silenced women.
She will be buried in County Clare, as she desired- back to her birthplace, back to the land of fresh air and music which she missed so dearly and so complexly. Rest in Peace Edna O’Brien, we have lost a beautiful poet and a fearless woman.
Edited by Emily Duff