Brian Friel was born on 9 or 10 January 1929 in Killyclogher, County Tyrone. The registration of his name as Bernard Patrick, rather than Brian, may reflect a general tendency in Northern Ireland at that time to discourage the registration of Gaelic names, suggesting that Friel’s examination of split subjectivity in his work may be rooted in the polemicised and separatist politics which characterised the society into which he was born. Arguably this fostered in him a sense of the instability of identity, as his birth certificate reflects a compromise between the binary polar positions that characterised Northern Irish politics. Friel’s family background and education also contributed to his problematic sense of identity. Although born in Northern Ireland, his family had strong links…
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Citation: Younger, Alison. "Brian Friel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1638, accessed 23 November 2024.]
