Flann O'Brien

Flann O'Brien (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966) was an Irish humorist, novelist and newspaper columnist. Christened Brian O'Nolan, the author was raised in County Tyrone and worked for many years as a Civil Servant. He wrote a greatly admired column in The Irish Times entitled Crushkeen Lawn in which he poked fun at the emerging nation's pettifoggery and small mindedness. He remains best known for his two great novels The Third Policeman, a surreal story set in an alternate universe, and At Swim Two Birds, an experimental work that reads like a zanier version of James Joyce's Ulysses (novel).