Walter Macken

Walter Macken has produced a vast array of works covering the widest possible range of issues, causes, historical records interpersonal dialogues, dealing with the taboo subjects whether ethical, political, religious or philosophical. It is not possible in a short story to do justice to the diversity of the works and subjects covered by this great and wonderful Irish writer. The writer of this short story has on his desk fourteen volumes of Walter Macken’s work as well as his son Ultan Macken’s biography, ‘Walter Macken Dreams on Paper’ and ‘Walter Macken Critical Perspectives’, the work of a series of critics edited by Sandra Heinen and Katharina Rennhak. This writer proposes therefore to take a representative but short extract from some of the fourteen volumes referred to above so that the reader can get a representative flavour of the subject. Walter Macken was a writer of short stories, novels and plays written and inspired by his home-land, the West of Ireland, the Galway and Connemara area in particular. Originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc in Galway, which had been set up to promote the native Irish language in writings and dramatic productions.