Roddy Doyle

Roddy Doyle (born Roderick Doyle, 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter.

He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories.

Doyle attended University College Dublin, where he studied English and geography, and graduated with a BA in 1979.

He went on to complete a Higher Diploma in Education (HDipEd) in 1980.

Doyle's first three novels, The Commitments (1987), The Snapper (1990) and The Van (1991) compose The Barrytown Trilogy, a trilogy centred on the Rabbitte family.

All three novels were made into successful films.

The Commitments is about a group of Dublin teenagers, led by Jimmy Rabbitte Jr., who decide to form a soul band in the tradition of Wilson Pickett.

In 1989, Doyle married Belinda Moller.

She is the granddaughter of former Irish President Erskine Childers.

They have three children; Rory, Jack and Kate.

Doyle is an atheist.

Several of his books have been made into films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991.

Doyle's work is set primarily in Ireland, especially working-class Dublin, and is notable for its heavy use of dialogue written in slang and Irish English dialect.

The novel was made into a film in 1991.

In The Van, which was shortlisted for the 1991 Booker Prize and made into a film in 1996, Jimmy Sr. is laid off, as is his friend Bimbo; the two buy a used fish and chips van and they go into business for themselves.

Doyle was awarded the Booker Prize in 1993 for his novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

Doyle was born in Dublin and grew up in Kilbarrack, in a middle-class family.

His mother, Ita (née Bolger) was a first cousin of the short story writer Maeve Brennan.

He spent several years as an English and geography teacher before becoming a full-time writer in 1993.

Doyle's writing is marked by heavy use of dialogue between characters, with little description or exposition.

His work is largely set in Ireland, with a focus on the lives of working-class Dubliners.

Themes range from domestic and personal concerns to larger questions of Irish history.

His personal notes and workbooks reside at the National Library of Ireland.

The Snapper, made into a film in 1993, focuses on Jimmy's sister, Sharon, who becomes pregnant.

She is determined to have the child but refuses to reveal the father's identity to her family.

In 1993, Doyle published Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, winner of the 1993 Booker Prize, which showed the world as described, understood and misunderstood by a ten-year-old Dubliner living in 1968.

Doyle's next novel dealt with darker themes.

The Woman Who Walked into Doors, published in 1996, is the story of a battered wife, Paula Spencer, who was introduced in his 1994 television series Family, and is narrated by her.

Despite her husband's increasingly violent behaviour, Paula defends him, using the classic excuse "I walked into a door" to explain her bruises.

A Star Called Henry (published 1999) is the first book in the series, and tells the story of Henry Smart, an IRA volunteer and 1916 Easter Rebellion fighter, from his birth in Dublin to his adulthood when he becomes a father.

Oh, Play That Thing! (2004) continues Henry's story in 1924 America, beginning in the Lower East Side of New York City, where he catches the attention of local mobsters by hiring kids to carry his sandwich boards.

He also goes to Chicago where he becomes a business partner with Louis Armstrong.

The title is taken from a phrase that is shouted in one of Armstrong's songs, "Dippermouth Blues".

Ten years later, the protagonist returned in Paula Spencer, published in 2006.

Doyle's most recent trilogy of adult novels is The Last Roundup series, which follows the adventures of protagonist Henry Smart through several decades.

In addition to teaching, Doyle, along with Seán Love, established a creative writing centre, "Fighting Words", which opened in Dublin in January 2009.

It was inspired by a visit to his friend Dave Eggers' 826 Valencia project in San Francisco.

He has also engaged in local causes, including signing a petition supporting journalist Suzanne Breen, who faced gaol for refusing to divulge her sources in court, and joining a protest against an attempt by Dublin City Council to construct 9 ft-high barriers which would interfere with one of his favourite views.

In the final novel in the trilogy, The Dead Republic (published 2010), Henry collaborates on writing the script for a Hollywood film.

He returns to Ireland and is offered work as the caretaker in a school when circumstances lead to him re-establishing his link with the IRA.