1. Liam O’Flaherty the sniper

2. Born in 1896 at Inishmore on the Aran Islands of Ireland to extremely poor parents. The isolation, terrible weather conditions, and population of farmers and fishermen of the islands contributed largely to his outlook on life and inspiration for his literature.

3. ‘There, not only extreme poverty, but the very position of the island foster in the human mind those devils of suspicion and resentment which make ingratitude seem man’s strongest vice. The surrounding sea, constantly stirred into fury by storms that cut off communication with the mainland, always maintains in the mind of the inhabitants a restless anxiety, which has a strong bearing on character, sharpening the wits and heightening the energy, but at the same time producing a violent instability of temperament.’

4. Received schooling through the Church at an early age and eventually enrolled in seminary but dropped out within three months and entered into the University College in Dublin before dropping out of that. He joined the Irish Guards in World War I, but suffered severe shell-shock and was discharged in 1918.

5. Began traveling and working odd jobs in South America, the United States, Canada, and Turkey He returned to England and then Ireland where he founded the Irish Communist Party in 1922 Started writing in the 1920’s, his first two novels were set in the Aran Islands. Married a writer named Margaret Barrington, divorced after six years

6. His novel The Informer was turned into a movie in the 1930’s by his brother John Ford which won four Academy Awards

7. Wrote some stories in Gaelic Wrote of issues affecting Ireland (Famine) Died in 1984 in Dublin

8. Links to Pictures and Information http://www.nndb.com/people/965/000102659/liam-oflaherty-1-sized.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Inishmore-cliffs3.jpg https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS-GvXTjvZBKADZbCqk4YA0HUOtiswiNezBrANLHPjBSyrLFMnW https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQfbBM1h89AAJZO8ugsoDuq75gLYkaKYmuUVIA51JmT7QTzvLzl https://encrypted- tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS6paeD1X_RhnhYWsX7Sk6vtmk2wy6IrlJjymmMumCQgORhDpYftQ https://encrypted- tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS6paeD1X_RhnhYWsX7Sk6vtmk2wy6IrlJjymmMumCQgORhDpYftQ https://encrypted- tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMfx66SiPu2rNe089P_81DEf2izVwYZsM8o4gu6uYAKmrQQ5ML0g https://encrypted- tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMfx66SiPu2rNe089P_81DEf2izVwYZsM8o4gu6uYAKmrQQ5ML0g https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT4_E5Qk-z0HOMjn4GCJAhckN-jx_9dYXuOU1qEd20TV09x456c7w https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQO1ghL3GKMMuU3t_FpBaNmlYwyN1i5UXwlk9soxfdpVtqhcMQT https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmRgbPB8grxXk6yD3hGB7JlhgsF4l62s8KyvBE1BuW6N-_dogH http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1000074271&v=2.1&u=char69915&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w http://www.ricorso.net/rx/az-data/authors/o/OFlaherty_L/quots.htm#Inishmore http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1200003404&v=2.1&u=char69915&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CRN1480006818&v=2.1&u=char69915&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1200003403&v=2.1&u=char69915&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w