What do you think?
The Hair of the Dogma
This is a companion volume to "The Best of Myles" and "Further Cuttings from Cruiskeen Lawn", and covers the Myles na Gopaleen columns for the "Irish Times", written between 1947 and 1957. It casts a humorous eye over subjects such as a Dublin man's relationship with his wife and his pint.
- GenresFiction
183 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
About the author
Flann O'Brien
67 books843 followersPseudonym of
Brian Ó Nualláin
, also known as Brian O'Nolan.
His English novels appeared under the name of Flann O’Brien, while his great Irish novel and his newspaper column (which appeared from 1940 to 1966) were signed Myles na gCopaleen or Myles na Gopaleen – the second being a phonetic rendering of the first. One of twelve brothers and sisters, he was born in 1911 in Strabane, County Tyrone, into an Irish-speaking family. His father had learned Irish while a young man during the Gaelic revival the son was later to mock. O’Brien’s childhood has been described as happy, though somewhat insular, as the language spoken at home was not that spoken by their neighbours. The Irish language had long been in decline, and Strabane was not in an Irish-speaking part of the country. The family moved frequently during O’Brien’s childhood, finally settling in Dublin in 1925. Four years later O’Brien took up study in University College Dublin.
Flann O'Brien is considered a major figure in twentieth century Irish literature. Flann O'Brien novels have attracted a wide following for their bizarre humour and Modernist metafiction.
The café and shop of Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich (www.culturlann.ie), at the heart of the Belfast Gaeltacht Quarter, is named An Ceathrú Póilí ("The Fourth Policeman"), as a play-on-words of the title of O'Brien's book The Third Policeman.
His English novels appeared under the name of Flann O’Brien, while his great Irish novel and his newspaper column (which appeared from 1940 to 1966) were signed Myles na gCopaleen or Myles na Gopaleen – the second being a phonetic rendering of the first. One of twelve brothers and sisters, he was born in 1911 in Strabane, County Tyrone, into an Irish-speaking family. His father had learned Irish while a young man during the Gaelic revival the son was later to mock. O’Brien’s childhood has been described as happy, though somewhat insular, as the language spoken at home was not that spoken by their neighbours. The Irish language had long been in decline, and Strabane was not in an Irish-speaking part of the country. The family moved frequently during O’Brien’s childhood, finally settling in Dublin in 1925. Four years later O’Brien took up study in University College Dublin.
Flann O'Brien is considered a major figure in twentieth century Irish literature. Flann O'Brien novels have attracted a wide following for their bizarre humour and Modernist metafiction.
The café and shop of Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich (www.culturlann.ie), at the heart of the Belfast Gaeltacht Quarter, is named An Ceathrú Póilí ("The Fourth Policeman"), as a play-on-words of the title of O'Brien's book The Third Policeman.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 14, 2015
Все же поразительно сходство между анусами вселенной — Ирландией начала ХХ века и Россией начала XXI-го. Единственная разница — тут сейчас не наблюдается своего Флэнна О’Браена (как и много кого другого), не Сорокина же считать таковым, не Мальцева, а Салтыков-Щедрин все-таки жил очень давно.
Но вообще, чтобы как-то терпимее относиться к нынешней окружающей нас отвратительной реальности, данной нам в неприятных ощущениях от происходящего в стране, читать ФОБ утешительно. Очень. Власть, ее присные и записные, ее культурный истэблишмент действуют практически точно по лекалам, применявшимся 100-150 лет назад. Я бы даже подозревал, что, например, русская дума, списывает свои культурные, в частности, инициативы у персонажей колонки ФОБ, если бы не был твердо уверен, что депутаты в массе своей не умеют читать даже журнал «Гламурная домохозяйка».
Можно было бы исписать не один блокнот разнообразными доказательствами, отчего Россия — обочина цивилизации, но мне лень. Лучше почитать ФОБ, у него все это уже написано.
Но вообще, чтобы как-то терпимее относиться к нынешней окружающей нас отвратительной реальности, данной нам в неприятных ощущениях от происходящего в стране, читать ФОБ утешительно. Очень. Власть, ее присные и записные, ее культурный истэблишмент действуют практически точно по лекалам, применявшимся 100-150 лет назад. Я бы даже подозревал, что, например, русская дума, списывает свои культурные, в частности, инициативы у персонажей колонки ФОБ, если бы не был твердо уверен, что депутаты в массе своей не умеют читать даже журнал «Гламурная домохозяйка».
Можно было бы исписать не один блокнот разнообразными доказательствами, отчего Россия — обочина цивилизации, но мне лень. Лучше почитать ФОБ, у него все это уже написано.
January 11, 2021
There’s not a sentence in the world that ever had a chance to survive the throttling stranglehold of Irish fantasist Flann O’Brien. By the time publishers scraped the O’Brien barrel down to Hair of the Dogma, the third collection of local newspaper columns bylined Myles na Gopaleen that O’Brien cranked out in Dublin in his downtime from tuning in masterpieces of transcendent, transgressing hilarity such as The Third Policeman, The Hard Life and At Swim-Two-Birds, the Myles na Gopaleen archive of disposable commentary had been deeply plundered. The subjects of the day’s discourse will be obscure and lack pressing drama. The seizures of surprise in each sentence have left me wishing for more.
June 3, 2021
side-splitting in the day no doubt. best left to the truly devoted. flann's take on afforestation did make me laugh...
October 15, 2010
OK, too much Flann O'Brien is exhausting. I'm taking a well-deserved break.
The Best of Myles is more than enough Cruiskeen Lawn for anybody. Leave this collection to the diehard fans. Among the treats here are the articles on a Dublin man's pint-wife relations, pieces on The Poor Mouth, Finnegans Wake and bicyclism.
The Best of Myles is more than enough Cruiskeen Lawn for anybody. Leave this collection to the diehard fans. Among the treats here are the articles on a Dublin man's pint-wife relations, pieces on The Poor Mouth, Finnegans Wake and bicyclism.
December 11, 2010
it was a bit funny but nothing hilarious. some parts were boring
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews