LAST UPDATE | 28 Jul

IRISH NOVELIST AND memoirist Edna O’Brien has died at the age of 93. 

Her publisher Faber confirmed her death this evening, saying that O’Brien had “died peacefully” yesterday after a “long illness”. 

The family has requested privacy at this time.

President Michael D. Higgins led tributes to his “dear friend”. He said that it was with “great sorrow” that he had heard news of her passing.

“Edna O’Brien has been one of the outstanding writers of modern times, her work has been sought as model all around the world,” he said.

“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.”

He expressed his condolences to her family and friends, as well as her fellow members of Aosdána, an Irish academy of artists who have produced a “distinguised body of work of genuine originality”.

Taoiseach Simon Harris paid tribute to O’Brien saying: “Ireland has lost an icon”.

Describing her as “brave, gifted, dignified and magnetic”, Harris praised her debut novel The Country Girls, saying that 64 years on, “it is not only a remarkable piece of work but still a landmark moment for Irish women and society.”

The Co Clare native was born in December 1930. She received acclaim upon the publication of her first novel, The Country Girls in 1960. It was the first novel within the popular The Country Girls trilogy.

It is with great sadness that Caroline Michel at PFD and Faber announce the death of beloved author Edna O’Brien. She died peacefully on Saturday 27 July after a long illness. Our thoughts are with her family and friends, in particular her sons Marcus and Carlo. The family has… pic.twitter.com/mU2z5BsZiC

— Faber Books (@FaberBooks) July 28, 2024

She had written a number of novels, poems, short stories and plays across her career.

In 2012, she released her memoir, Country Girl. In 2018, O’Brien was made a Dame of the British Empire. 

Her final novel, Girl, was published in 2019 and received rave reviews.

She is survived by her two sons, Carlo and Sasha Gébler.