(Pseudonym for John Francis Whelan)
Irish author. Born 1900, died 1991.
O'Faolain's sympathy with (and experience within) the Irish republican secessionist movement is reflected in his anthology, Midsummer Night Madness and Other Stories (1932), which was received with great public enthusiasm in Ireland, and in the novel A Nest of Simple Folk(1933).
Covering a broad spectrum in his writings, O'Faolain is best known for his delicate, culturally sensitive and technically advanced fictional writing style, as shown in his novels and short stories. However, he has also written well-received works of biography and literary criticism.
He was appointed to the post of head of the Arts Council in Ireland, in 1957.