Walter Macken (Irish Uaitéar Ó Maicín), was born in Galway

Galway

Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays. Originally an actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, principally with the Taibhdhearc in Galway, and The Abbey Theatre, he played lead roles on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 in M.J. Molloy's

M. J. Molloy

Michael Joseph Molloy was an Irish playwright. He was born and died in Miltown, County Galway.Molloy originally intended to become a priest, but contracted tuberculosis as a young man. He began writing plays during his long hospital stays. His first play, Old Road, was produced at the Abbey...

 The King of Friday's Men and his own play Home Is the Hero

Home Is the Hero

Home Is the Hero is a 1959 Irish drama film directed by Fielder Cook. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Walter Macken - Paddo O'Reilly* Eileen Crowe - Daylia O'Reilly* Arthur Kennedy - Willie O'Reilly...

. He also acted in films, notably in Arthur Dreifuss' adaptation

Film adaptation

Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...

 of Brendan Behan's

Brendan Behan

Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...

 The Quare Fellow

The Quare Fellow

The Quare Fellow is Brendan Behan's first play, first produced in 1954.The title is taken from a Hiberno-English pronunciation of queer, meaning 'strange' or 'unusual'. In context, the word lacks the denotation of homosexuality which it holds today...

.
His son Ultan Macken is a well-known journalist in the print and broadcast media of Ireland.

Novels

• Rain on the Wind (London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
  , MacMillan, 1950)
• The Bogman (MacMillan, 1952)
• Seek the Fair Land (MacMillan,1959)
• The Silent People (MacMillan, 1962)
• The Scorching Wind (MacMillan, 1964)
• Quench the Moon
• Brown Lord of the Mountain
• Sullivan
• Sunset on the Window Panes

Novels for children

• Island of the Great Yellow Ox (MacMillan, 1966)
• Flight of the Doves (MacMillan, 1968), which was adapted for the cinema.

Other works

• I am Alone
• The Green Hills (stories)
• The Coll Doll and other Stories (which includes thirteen stories from The Green Hills)
• God Made Sunday and other Stories

External links

• Entry at Irish Writers Online
• http://www.waltermacken.com/index.php