She died yesterday in London after being sick for a long time.
Faber, her literary agent and publisher, said in a statement, “Our thoughts are with her family and friends, especially her sons Marcus and Carlo.” The family has asked for privacy at this time.
President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to the man from County Clare and said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of “one of the great writers of our time.”
He said, “It makes me very sad to hear about the death of Edna O’Brien, a dear friend of Sabina and mine.”
“Enda O’Brien is one of the best writers of our time, and people all over the world look to her work as an example.”
“Edna was a brave journalist who told the truth. She was a great writer who had the moral strength to show Irish society things that had been hidden and ignored for too long.”
Edna O’Brien was one of the first writers to give real voices to the experiences of Irish women from different generations through that deeply insightful and human work. She also played a major role in changing the status of women in Irish society.
“While her work was praised right away in other countries, it is important to remember the negative reactions it faced from people who wanted to keep women’s experiences out of Irish literature. Her books were shamefully banned when they first came out.”
“Thank goodness Edna O’Brien’s works are now seen for the great art that they are.” In 2015 and 2018, as President of Ireland, it was a pleasure for me to give Edna the Torc of the Saoi of Aosdána and the Presidential Distinguished Service Award. The fact that her fellow artists chose her to be Saoi was the highest compliment that could be given to her work.
“That work will continue to honor the complete freedom a writer needs, the risks and contradictions of life, and the way imagination lets you escape into beauty.”
“Please know that I’m deeply sorry for the loss of Edna. My thoughts are with her family, friends, followers of Aosdána, and all the people around the world who loved her work.”
Her agent, Faber, also said that Ms. O’Brien was “one of the best writers of our time.”
A statement said, “She changed the course of Irish literature by writing about women’s lives and the complexities of the human condition in bright, spare prose that had a huge impact on many writers who came after her.”
“With a strong will and defiance, Edna always tried to break new artistic ground and write honestly from a place of deep feeling.” She was full of life and it showed in her writing. She was fun to be around, kind, generous, mischievous, and brave.
“Dear friend”
“Edna was a great friend to all of us, and we will miss her very much.” Many thanks to Faber for the chance to publish her work. Her brave and brilliant writing lives on.
The author was born in Tuamgraney in December 1930. They wrote more than 20 books.
Her book The Country Girls, which came out in 1960, won her praise.
Some biographies, plays, screenplays, and her own story were also written by her.
In the 1950s, Ireland had a lot of problems with how she wrote about women’s sexuality in some of her books.
Icon gone
The leader of Ireland, Simon Harris, said, “Ireland has lost an icon.” He also said that she was a “brave, gifted, dignified, and magnetic person.”
“She wrote her first book, The Country Girls, in just three weeks,” he said. After 64 years, it is still an amazing work of art and a turning point for Irish women and society as a whole.
“Edna O’Brien would never be shut up, even if the book was banned and burned.
“Most people would have stopped and hidden away from the misogyny she faced, but Edna O’Brien kept working on her artistry and became one of modern Ireland’s most celebrated and honoured writers.”
Thoughts for family
He also told Edna’s family how sorry he was for their loss.
The leader of Fine Gael said, “As Taoiseach, I want to send my deepest condolences to her family, especially her children Carlo and Sasha, as well as to her many loyal fans. She was a truly special person.”
Emma said that writing was her lifeblood, and when she was promoting her book Girl a few years ago, she told an interviewer, “I want to go out as someone who told the truth.”
“To say Edna O’Brien achieved this and so much more is the understatement of the century.”