Kevin Barry

Aran Ward Sell (University of Edinburgh)

Ed. by Eoghan Smith, Carlow College
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.4: Irish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Sorcha DeBrun (University of Limerick), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Anne Markey (Dublin City University), Ian Campbell Ross (Trinity College Dublin), Eoghan Smith (Carlow College), Sinéad Sturgeon (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

Born 1969
Activity 2007-ongoing

Places

Born in Ireland, Republic of (Eire)
Active in Ireland, Republic of (Eire)

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Story-writer

Resources

Barry's Works

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The Irish author Kevin Barry was born in Limerick in 1969, and lived in “17 different addresses” before making a home in a former police barracks in County Sligo, Ireland, and finding success as a writer of short stories and novels. These addresses included “nine cities of Ireland” (Barry, “Once upon a life”), as well as London, San Franciso, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Barcelona.

Barry’s work characteristically blends psychological disquiet with slick, televisual dialogue and description. He first came to attention in Ireland through short stories in magazines and literary journals, including the influential Dublin magazine The Stinging Fly. This led to his first collection, There Are Little Kingdoms (2007) being published by The Stinging Fly Press, which subsequently won the

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2466 words

Citation: Ward Sell, Aran. "Kevin Barry". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 May 2025 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13972, accessed 22 May 2025.]