Beckett in the Dublin mountains

A chara, – Samuel Beckett was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century and a Nobel laureate. In general his works have been regarded as austere and semi-mythical, which is a true observation.

From this short and interesting article (“Walking in Samuel Beckett’s footsteps”, Alan Gilsenan, Books, September 13th), one can see that as a boy a different personality was emerging – that of a boy who walked with his father in the Dublin mountains near his home in Foxrock and silently observed the beauty of the landscape.

It is obvious these deep feelings remained with him and would haunt him in the years to come, spilling over into some of his greatest works with mentions of Ballyogan and the Glencree valley, to name but a few.

A few years ago I visited his resting place in the cemetery of Montparnasse in Paris. His gravestone was a neat slab of polished granite with a large spray of purple heather, which had recently been placed there. What a fitting tribute to a man, who deep down loved his Irish roots. – Yours, etc,