Dubliners boast about their literary greats - they used to say that Dublin was the only city in the world with three Nobel Prizes for literature, though I don't know if this is still true.
Cork hasn't cashed in as much on its literary heritage but it's one to be proud of for sure. Here's my Top 10 of Cork's Greatest Writers.
1. William Trevor - my no. 1 for The Ballroom of Romance
2. Daniel Corkery
3. Frank O'Connor - wrote a strange biography of Michael Collins. Famous for his short stories, though most are about priests and nuns.
4. Des Mac Hale - born in Mayo but a naturalised Corkman. Wrote lots on maths and other subjects, but for me his greatness is in his books of Kerryman Jokes.
5. James Joyce (50% Corkonian).
6. Roy Keane - better known for football and being a bit of a hardman. Merits inclusion for his autobiography and for his links to Manchester United which is so important to the culture of Cork.
7. John B Keane - included on the basis of being a distant cousin to Roy.
8. Louise O' Neill - should probably feature higher as she's a great warrior for womens and social justice issues. A real Cork heroine.
9. Seáns - Ó RÃordáin and Ó Faoláin - erstwhile practitioners of a dead art form in a dead language (good riddance).
10. Greed is Good. Controversial one this as he should probably feature much higher. I've included at 10 as I can't vouch for his works as I've never read any - they always seem to be sold out.
That's my list anyway lads. Feel free to criticise and have a go. Incoming expected for having only one woman and for Louise and Greedy being so low down on the list.
Cork hasn't cashed in as much on its literary heritage but it's one to be proud of for sure. Here's my Top 10 of Cork's Greatest Writers.
1. William Trevor - my no. 1 for The Ballroom of Romance
2. Daniel Corkery
3. Frank O'Connor - wrote a strange biography of Michael Collins. Famous for his short stories, though most are about priests and nuns.
4. Des Mac Hale - born in Mayo but a naturalised Corkman. Wrote lots on maths and other subjects, but for me his greatness is in his books of Kerryman Jokes.
5. James Joyce (50% Corkonian).
6. Roy Keane - better known for football and being a bit of a hardman. Merits inclusion for his autobiography and for his links to Manchester United which is so important to the culture of Cork.
7. John B Keane - included on the basis of being a distant cousin to Roy.
8. Louise O' Neill - should probably feature higher as she's a great warrior for womens and social justice issues. A real Cork heroine.
9. Seáns - Ó RÃordáin and Ó Faoláin - erstwhile practitioners of a dead art form in a dead language (good riddance).
10. Greed is Good. Controversial one this as he should probably feature much higher. I've included at 10 as I can't vouch for his works as I've never read any - they always seem to be sold out.
That's my list anyway lads. Feel free to criticise and have a go. Incoming expected for having only one woman and for Louise and Greedy being so low down on the list.
