Life
1940- ; b. Strahard, Mountmellick, Co. Laois; ordained; after an unhappy
first curacy he moved to America; left priesthood; worked in various jobs
incl. District School on Long Island; studied for MA, University of Seattle;
first published novel, In the Season of the Daisies (1993), later
selected for the Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers”
series and finalist for the related award; also Iscariot (1995),
a study involving Catholicism, celibacy and detective fiction; also Derrycloney
(1999); has spoken at numerous educational, cultural and civic groups
in the US, England and Ireland; has two grown-up sons from an earlier relationship; now m. to Patricia [née Mansfield], an editor for St Martin’s Press, and lives on Long Island,
NY.
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Works
In the Season of the Daisies (Dublin: Lilliput Press 1993), 226pp.,
and Do. (NY: Four Walls Eight Windows 1998), trans. as À
la Saison des Marguerites (Paris: Edition Balland 1998), 301pp.; Iscariot
(Dingle: Brandon Press 1995), [6], 281pp., trans. as Keegan’s
Geheimnis (München: Franz Schneekluth Verlag & Bastei Lubbe
1998), 416pp.; Derrycloney (Dingle: Brandon 1999), 273pp.
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Criticism
See interview in Books Ireland 191 (Dec. 1995), pp.313-14.
Louise Cooper, review of Iscariot (1995), in Irish Times ( 2 Dec. 1995); , p.8; see also under Commentary, infra; there is a Tom Phelan web page.
John Dunne, reviewing In the Season of the Daisies (Lilliput
1993), with warm approbation in Books Ireland (Summer 1995), p.150;
Books Ireland (Dec. 1995), p.325-26.
Sundry comments in Escariot (1995) - The Irish Examiner: ‘A novel about religion, families, sex, guilt and joy - with a whodunnit narrative that keeps you reading to the last page [...] written by a writer who understands the concept of craft.’ Irish Globe: ‘Written with passion and energy.’ An Phoblacht: ‘Always gripping.’
Sandra A. Cooke, review of Iscariot, in The Irish Reporter, 21 (Feb. 1996), p.79-80.
Sundry comments on Derrycloney (1999) - The Irish World: ‘A moving portrayal of rural Irish life in the 1940s, Derrycloney is one of the finest Irish novels I have read in some time [...] Phelan’s insight is phenomenal and the language [...] is rich, evocative and powerful [...] All in all, a great book - readable, powerful, thought-provoking, moving and often very funny.’ Leinster Express: ‘Phelan is a master story-teller with keen powers of observation and an innate command of suspense.’ Irish Emigrant: ‘A book filled with incident, with humor, with unforgettable characters, which I can heartily recommend. Irish Examiner: ‘His work [...] is highly esteemed in the US, and with good reason [...] This is a comic novel, with a strong plot and a very moving, happy ending.’ (Kindly supplied by Patricia Mansfield Freeport, NY.)
Irish World (q.d.), on Derrycloney: ‘[...] At the heart of this wonderfully humorous novel is Derrycloney Lane, where Kate Glanvil tries to keep the peace; Billy Bates listens to the trains on a deserted railway bridge at night and dreams about Miss Hippwell; Lizzie Burns plots to steal her dead brother's farm; Crip Quigley wishes for his long-dead mother to come home; Missus Brady protects the defenseless Benny Cosgrove; Crissy the Widda reads an old letter from South Africa by the light of a Sacred Heart lamp; Cha Finley makes a sacrificial offering at his sister’s expense; Murt McHugh reveals an ancient obstetrical secret; and young Liam Glanvil visits the swans and writes letters to a nun.’ (Quoted on Tom Phelan webpage.)
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Notes
Tom Phelan spoke at The Irish American Heritage
Museum on the subject of “The Way They Were: Life in the Irish Countryside
in the 1940s” (Albany Public Library; 2.00 p.m., Sunday, November
16, 2003).
Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco)