Irish novelist Claire Kilroy, Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. Chair of Irish Studies, will be giving a reading on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:00 p.m. following a reception in the President’s Lounge of the Connelly Center. Each academic year, a distinguished Irish writer is chosen to serve for the spring semester as the Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. Chair of Irish Studies. Inaugurated in 2000, it has become one of the most prestigious Irish studies positions in the United States.

The reading, co-sponsored by Falvey Memorial Library, the Irish Studies Program, the Irish Dance Team and the Irish Cultural Society, is free and open to the public. It is part of a weeklong series of events celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, presented by the Irish Studies Program in conjunction with Falvey Memorial Library. Other events include Nova Feis: Lecture featuring Eoin Mc Evoy, visiting Fulbright Scholar on Thursday, March 19, 5:00 p.m. in Speakers’ Corner, Falvey Memorial Library.

From the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: “Claire Kilroy was born in Dublin, Ireland. She attended Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied English as an undergraduate and where, after a brief time working in television, she also earned her M.Phil in Creative Writing in 2001. Kilroy is the author of four novels—All Summer, Tenderwire, All Names Have Been Changed, and The Devil I Know—and has been described by Barbara Kingsolver, author of Flight Behaviour, as a writer who “packs a stunning worldly wisdom into her beautiful prose”; and has also been called “a quirky and excitingly original writer” by Anne Fogarty of the Irish Times. Kilroy cites her literary influences as John Banville and Vladimir Nabokov, and Lolita as her favorite book. She currently resides in Dublin with her husband and infant son, to whom she devotes most of her time.” Read more here.

To learn more about Claire Kilroy and her bibliography, check out the resources below selected by Sarah Wingo, liaison librarian for English and Theater.

Dig Deeper

Falvey Holdings:

Read a Guardian review of Kilroy’s most recent book.

Check out and follow Kilroy’s Goodreads profile.

Read a 2010 interview.

Dig Deeper links selected by Sarah Wingo, team leader – Humanities II, subject librarian for English, literature and theatre.