Walter Macken (3 May 1915 – 22 April 1967;[1] Irish: Uaitéar Ó Maicín), was born in Galway, Ireland. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays.
Walter Macken was originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc (where he met his wife, Peggy)[2] in Galway, and The Abbey TheatreinDublin. He also played lead roles on BroadwayinM. J. Molloy's The King of Friday's Men[3] and his own play Home Is the Hero. The success of his third book, Rain on the Wind (winner of the Literary Guild award in the USA),[4] enabled him to focus his energies on writing. He also acted in films, notably in Arthur Dreifuss' adaptationofBrendan Behan's The Quare Fellow. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy of Irish historical novels Seek the Fair Land, The Silent People and The Scorching Wind.[5]
In September 1966 he moved to the small Gaeltacht village of Menlo in County Galway. He died suddenly at home on 22 April 1967 and was survived by his wife and two sons.[6] His son Ultan Macken is a well-known journalist in the print and broadcast media of Ireland, and wrote a biography of his father, Walter Macken: Dreams on Paper.[7]
Two further novels, 'And then No More' (1946) and 'Cockles and Mustard' (1947) remain unpublished.
Macken wrote some 5 collections of short stories for children, and also:
* Previously published in The Green Hills (MacMillan, 1956)
* Previously published in The Coll Doll and other Stories (Macmillan, 1969)
** Previously published in God Made Sunday and other Stories (Macmillan, 1962)
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