‘The Greatest of These’ – An Irishman’s Diary on Francis McManus

Authors

Eamon Maher, Technological University DublinFollow

Document Type

Article

Rights

This item is available under a Creative Commons License for non-commercial use only

Disciplines

General literature studies, Specific literatures

Publication Details

The Irish Times, 18th August 2020.

Abstract

Francis McManus (1909-1965) is known to those of us of a certain age because his novel depicting a priest’s revolt against authority, The Greatest of These (1943), was on the Leaving Certificate English syllabus for many years. I did not feel at the time it had any of the allure of Wuthering Heights, the poignancy of King Lear, the political resonance of Yeats, the lyricism of Wordsworth or Kavanagh.

Recommended Citation

Maher, E. (2020) ‘The Greatest of These’ – An Irishman’s Diary on Francis McManus, The Irish Times, August, 2020.