Richard Barry O'Brien

Richard Barry O'Brien (7 March 1847 17 March 1918) was a lawyer, historian, Irish journalist and prolific writer on Irish subjects.[1][2]

He was born at Kilrush, County Clare. He studied law at the Catholic University, Dublin, after which he went to London. He was a founder-member there of the Irish Literary Society and also joined the London Gaelic League.[3]

Politically he was loyal to, but not uncritical of, Charles Stuart Parnell, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminster.[4] Parnell wished to make him a MP, but he declined, as he preferred to remain focused on writing. He wrote a much-discussed biography of Parnell in 1898.[2] O'Brien was a political insider and a committed Home Ruler and the biography throws light on the activities of Home Rule MPs and their links to the Fenian Movement.

Select works

References

  1. Dictionary of Irish Biography
  2. 1 2 "Richard Barry O'Brien". Personal Notes. Otago. Otago Witness. 26 January 1899. p. 58. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  3. "Obituary". Boston College. 18 March 1918. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  4. R. Barry O'Brien at Ricorso
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