Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930 July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American
teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Angela's
Ashes, a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his
childhood.Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930 July 19, 2009) was an
Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his
book Angela's Ashes, a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of
his childhood.Frank McCourt was born in New York City's Brooklyn
borough, on August 19, 1930, to Malachy McCourt, Sr. (March 31, 1901
January 11, 1985), who falsely claimed to have been in the IRA during
the Irish War of Independence, and Irish Catholic mother Angela
Sheehan (January 1, 1908 December 27, 1981) from Limerick. Frank
McCourt lived in New York with his parents and four younger siblings:
Malachy, born in 1931; twins Oliver and Eugene, born in 1932; and a
younger sister, Margaret, who died just 21 days after birth, in 1934.
In the midst of the Great Depression, the family moved back to
Ireland. Unable to find steady work in Belfast or Dublin and beset by
Malachy Senior's alcoholism, the McCourt family returned to their
mother's native Limerick, where they sank even deeper into poverty.
They lived in a rain-soaked slum, the parents and children sharing one
bed together, McCourt's father drinking away what little money they
had. His father, being from the north and bearing a northern accent,
found this trait to be an added stressor to finding a job. The twins
Oliver and Eugene died in early childhood due to the squalor of their
circumstances, and two more boys were born: Michael, who later lived
in San Francisco (where he was called the "Dean of Bartenders") until
his death in September 2015; and Alphonsus, who published a memoir of
his own and died in 2016. Frank McCourt himself nearly died of typhoid
fever when he was 11.McCourt related that when he was 11, his father
left Limerick to find work in the factories of wartime Coventry,
England, rarely sending back money to support his family. Eventually,
McCourt recounts that Malachy Senior abandoned Frank's mother
altogether, leaving her to raise her four surviving children, on the
edge of starvation, without any source of income. Frank's school
education ended at age 13, when the Irish Christian Brothers rejected
him. Frank then held odd jobs and stole bread and milk in an effort to
provide for his mother and three surviving brothers.
teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Angela's
Ashes, a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his
childhood.Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930 July 19, 2009) was an
Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his
book Angela's Ashes, a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of
his childhood.Frank McCourt was born in New York City's Brooklyn
borough, on August 19, 1930, to Malachy McCourt, Sr. (March 31, 1901
January 11, 1985), who falsely claimed to have been in the IRA during
the Irish War of Independence, and Irish Catholic mother Angela
Sheehan (January 1, 1908 December 27, 1981) from Limerick. Frank
McCourt lived in New York with his parents and four younger siblings:
Malachy, born in 1931; twins Oliver and Eugene, born in 1932; and a
younger sister, Margaret, who died just 21 days after birth, in 1934.
In the midst of the Great Depression, the family moved back to
Ireland. Unable to find steady work in Belfast or Dublin and beset by
Malachy Senior's alcoholism, the McCourt family returned to their
mother's native Limerick, where they sank even deeper into poverty.
They lived in a rain-soaked slum, the parents and children sharing one
bed together, McCourt's father drinking away what little money they
had. His father, being from the north and bearing a northern accent,
found this trait to be an added stressor to finding a job. The twins
Oliver and Eugene died in early childhood due to the squalor of their
circumstances, and two more boys were born: Michael, who later lived
in San Francisco (where he was called the "Dean of Bartenders") until
his death in September 2015; and Alphonsus, who published a memoir of
his own and died in 2016. Frank McCourt himself nearly died of typhoid
fever when he was 11.McCourt related that when he was 11, his father
left Limerick to find work in the factories of wartime Coventry,
England, rarely sending back money to support his family. Eventually,
McCourt recounts that Malachy Senior abandoned Frank's mother
altogether, leaving her to raise her four surviving children, on the
edge of starvation, without any source of income. Frank's school
education ended at age 13, when the Irish Christian Brothers rejected
him. Frank then held odd jobs and stole bread and milk in an effort to
provide for his mother and three surviving brothers.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.
Related Post
