The country girl

The Irish Censorship Board did Edna the immeasurable favour of banning her early books

Edna O’Brien was genuinely charming, a perfect fit for the writer-as-celebrity in a TV age
photo: alamy/gl portrait

She had a complicated relationship with Ireland and with the Church, but without the passionate intensity and ardour of her Catholic upbringing, Edna O’Brien’s work would not have been so deeply felt.

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