Bram Stoker honoured with Google Doodle

For the second time in recent weeks an Irish writer has been honoured with a Google Doodle. The centenary of the death of Bram Stoker was observed earlier this year in April. Google however has chosen to commemorate his birth, with a doodle depicting Stoker's immortal creation (literally) of Count Dracula.

Stoker was born in Dublin. His early years were spent at 15 Marino Crescent, Clontarf, where he was bedridden until the age of 8 due to a mysterious illness. It was during this period of convalescence that the seeds of his future literary output were sown. His mother, who grew up in the west of Ireland and had witnessed first hand the horrors of the Great Famine in Ireland of the 1840s, recounted stories to him from that period. These obviously left a lasting impression, even when he regained his health.

Bram Stoker is arguably Ireland's most successful writer, although his reputation has been rather overlooked in his home country; a country that is generally proud if its literary accomplishments and heritage. This year however, on the centenary of his death, a Bram Stoker Festival has been inaugurated. The festival "aspires to honour his memory and achievements and to encourage a spirit of enquiry and curiosity about the creator of one of literatures most famous characters."

His fame rests chiefly on the novel Dracula, which has grown to become more than a literary masterpiece; it has in fact become a cultural icon and achieved a certain level of immortality (pardon the pun) among fans of the vampire horror genre.  According to the Bram Stoker Festival website:

Though when he died, not a single obituary mentioned his most famous work, today it has been translated into over fifty languages and Count Dracula has become the most filmed fictional character in movie history.

In fact, Stoker's literary output was prolific. Other works, such as The Lady of the Shroud or The Lair of the White Worm are still in print and have also been adapted for other media including TV an cinema.

Bram Stoker was born on this day, 8th November, in 1847.

Flann O'Brien Honoured with a Google Doodle

Irish novelist, playwright, journalist, satirist, Brian O'Nolan (aka Flann, O'Brien, aka Myles na gCopaleen) has been honoured with a Google Doodle. He is the second Irish author to be served with such an accolade: James Joyce was the subject of the Doodle that commemorated Bloomsday 2004.

Although born in Strabane in Co Tyrone the author O'Nolan was a well known character in Dublin during his lifetime. He attended University College Dublin. His parental home was in Blackrock and he lived for most of his life at various addresses in South Dublin.

The various pseudonyms he employed throughout his literary career were due to restrictions placed upon him in his role as a civil servant. His father's early death meant that he was obliged to support a large family of brothers and sisters. He himself died childless. The position of civil servant was both prestigious and well-paid in Ireland of the time, which was largely poor and agrarian. Regulations and internal culture of the Irish civil service meant that senior officers were prohibited from publicly expressing views on political, controversial or sensitive matters. O'Nolan "was, indeed, forced to retire from the civil service in 1953." [Source: Wikipedia]

Today his works are widely read and celebrated, captivating succeeding generations. He is particularly remembered for his novels that include At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman, An Béal Bocht. He was the subject of an international conference in Vienna in 2011 from which an International Flann O'Brien Society has been established.

Closer to home, the inaugural Flann OBrien Literary Festival will take place over the weekend of Friday 12th and Saturday 13th October in O'Nolan's native Strabane and neighbouring town of Lifford. Full details including programme of events are available here.

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