PRESIDENT Higgins has paid a tender tribute to his ‘dear friend’ Edna O’Brien following her death over the weekend.
The 93-year-old, who died on Saturday, July 27, was one of Ireland’s most esteemed authors.
Born in county Clare in 1930, her first book, The Country Girls, published in 1960, was banned in Ireland for its frank portrayal of female sexuality.
Today, her work enjoys enduring popularity and critical success, with O’Brien renowned internationally for her skill as a novelist and the centring of women’s experiences in her work.
Irish writer Edna O'Brien has died aged 93In May 2021, she received the prestigious French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, joining the likes of TS Eliot, Ray Bradbury and Seamus Heaney, who have all also received the honour.
O’Brien, who lived in Ireland, was still writing in recent years, with her novel Girl, published in 2019, among her most highly praised.
Her agent confirmed she died peacefully, following a long illness, adding: “Our thoughts are with her family and friends, in particular her sons Marcus and Carlo.”
Paying tribute, President Higgins said: “It is with great sorrow that I heard of the passing of a dear friend of Sabina’s and mine, Edna O’Brien."
Describing the author as “one of the outstanding writers of modern times”, he added that her work “has been sought as model all around the world”.
“Edna was a fearless teller of truths, a superb writer possessed of the moral courage to confront Irish society with realities long ignored and suppressed,” Mr Higgins explained.
Novelist Edna O Brien is one of Ireland's most esteemed writers“Through that deeply insightful work, rich in humanity, Edna O’Brien was one of the first writers to provide a true voice to the experiences of women in Ireland in their different generations and played an important role in transforming the status of women across Irish society.
“While the beauty of her work was immediately recognised abroad, it is important to remember the hostile reaction it provoked among those who wished for the lived experience of women to remain far from the world of Irish literature, with her books shamefully banned upon their early publication,” he added.
“Thankfully Edna O’Brien’s work is now recognised for the superb works of art which they are.”
In 2015 President Higgins presented Ms O’Brien with the Torc of the Saoi of Aosdána, which is deemed the highest honour in the Irish arts world.
In 2018 she was presented with a Presidential Distinguished Service Award.
“Her election as Saoi, chosen by her fellow artists, was the ultimate expression of the esteem in which her work is held,” President Higgins said.
“That work will continue to celebrate the full freedom that a writer must have, the risks and contradictions of circumstance, the release into beauty that imagination makes possible,” he added.
“May I express my deepest condolences to Edna’s children Carlo and Sasha, to her family and friends, to her follow members of Aosdána, and to all those who love her work across the world.”
Funeral details have yet to be confirmed.
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