Jonathan Swift 1667 - 1745

Swift is best known for Gulliver's Travels his satirical masterpiece describes the journey of the hero, Lemuel Gulliver to the land of fantasy, also, Lilliput, which is inhabited by a race of small people who are very pompous and to Brobdingnag, where people find their absurd stories of England. This satire later became a children's story. He also wrote numerous satires, including A Tale of a Tub and numerous political tracts, including The Drapier Letters, which Swift has made a national hero for his defiance of Britain. He was Dean of the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Dublin from 1713 until 1745.

Oliver Goldsmith 1730 - 1774

The Oliver Goldsmith's literary reputation stems from his two comedies, The man of good character and She stoops to conquer and his novel, The Vicar of Wakefield. He is probably best known in Ireland for his poem The deserted village, which expresses the fear that the destruction of peoples in the interests of the gentry ruin the farmers. Although this poem has been recognized in Ireland as an anti-English work, current thinking is that the people who are actually based in England. Goldsmith was known for his extreme jealousy of other writers like Dr. Johnson.

George Bernard Shaw 1856 - 1950

Shaw was born in Dublin and worked in an office until he moved to London. He discovered socialism and joined the Fabian Society. He began writing plays shortly after and had his first success with Arms and the Man ',' Candida ',' The Devil's Disciple, Man and Superman, Major Barbara ',' The Doctor's Dilemma and several others. His most famous work, 'Pygmalion', later became the popular musical My Fair Lady '. Besides being a playwright, critic Shaw wrote extensively in the areas of art, literature and music and also wrote numerous political tracts. It produces some poetry and novels that are less known. He was a joke and storyteller, and many of his aphorisms are quoted frequently. won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.

Sean O'Casey 1880 - 1964

Although he was the son of middle-class Protestants became a militant nationalist and supporter of James Larkin and the Irish Citizen Army. He taught himself to read and write at thirteen years old. He left school at fourteen and worked at various jobs, including as a railroad for nine years. He started writing in 1917 and produced a series of plays. His first work at the Abbey Theatre was' The Shadow of a Gun 'in 1923 and this was followed by his other great works,' Juno and the Paycock and The Plough and the Stars. His later work The Silver Tassie  was rejected by the Abbey, but he went on to write many other works that were performed around the world including London and New York. He also wrote an autobiography in six volumes.

William Butler Yeats 1865 - 1939

He founded the Irish Theatre with Lady Gregory and later became the Abbey Theatre which is still the main theater of Ireland. He was very involved in the emerging Irish nationalism and his works are often based on Irish legends. These include the Countess Cathleen, the land of heart's desire, Cathleen N Houlihan and Deirdre. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, primarily for his work, but most of his poetry, which is more famous that followed. His books of poetry are The Wild Swans at Coole ',' The Tower ',' The Winding Stair and Other Poems and Last Poems and plays. He is considered one of the most important poets writing in English in the twentieth century.

Oscar Wilde 1854 - 1900

Wilde was educated in Dublin and Oxford and then moved to London, where he moved in the modern cultural and social circles and became involved in the aesthetic movement. He became one of London's most popular playwrights and The Importance of Being Earnest is considered one of the finest modern farce in English. His other works include Lady Windermere's Fan'', 'Salome'',' A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband. He wrote a novel The Picture of Dorian Gray '. He was jailed for two years after being convicted of indecency with other men and produced his famous poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol of his time there. After his release, he emigrated to Paris, where he died at 46.

James Joyce 1882 - 1941

Born in Dublin for the good of Catholics who later became destitute, was educated at Clongowes, Belvedere College and the Royal College after which he moved to Paris. In 1904 he began writing a fictional autobiography called hero of Stephen, which was later rewritten as Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man . In 1904 he met Nora Barnacle, who later became his wife. Joyce's major works include Ulysses, which is an epic that takes place in Dublin in one day, June 16, 1904 and this porvides the date for the celebration of Bloomsday in Dublin annually. I had problems getting the book published, but was finally published in Paris by Sylvia Beach. It was banned in Ireland for many years. He then worked in Finnegans Wake 'his book in which he experimented with the language to the point of what is incomprehensible to most people. His collection' Dubliners' contains stories' The Dead ', which was made into a movie John Huston. Joyce's work has come under scrutiny by many scholars and has been a major influence on many writers.

Samuel Beckett 1906 - 1989

He studied English, French and Italian at the University of Dublin (Trinity College) where he was an accomplished cricketer. While at Trinity College was influenced by the writings of James Joyce and Joyce actually helped in doing research for Finnegans Wake. He has published literary works from 1929 key and went to travel in Europe and began writing fiction as novels and poems. He settled in France at the beginning of World War 2 and became involved in the Resistance Movement. Beckett novel, 'Murphy' had just been published and has since written mainly in French, often the translation of works in English. His major novels were Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable, but today is best known for his works Waiting for Godot, End Game 'and' Happy Days'. He won the Nobel Prize Literature in 1969. His innovative work has had a major influence on later writers. Samuel Beckett Bridge, which opened in Dublin in 2009 is named in his honor.