Skip to content

Anthony Cronin Dead As Doornails

€14.95

Code 9781843519737

Dead as Doornails, first published in 1976, brings back into print a true classic of Irish memoir. Anthony Cronin's account of life in post-war literary Dublin is funny and colourful, but also a clear-eyed and bracing antidote to the kitsc..

Add to Basket
Description

Binding: Paperback

Date Published: 26 Feb 2026

Dead as Doornails, first published in 1976, brings back into print a true classic of Irish memoir. Anthony Cronin's account of life in post-war literary Dublin is as funny and colourful as one would expect from an intimate of Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh and Myles na Gopaleen; but it is also a clear-eyed and bracing antidote to the kitsch that passes for literary history and memory in the Dublin of today. Cronin writes with remarkable subtlety of the frustrations and pathologies of this generation: the excess of drink, the shortage of sex, the insecurity and begrudgery, the painful limitations of cultural life, and the bittersweet pull of exile. We read of a comical sojourn in France with Behan, and of Cronin's years in London as a literary editor and a friend of the writer Julian Maclaren-Ross and the painters Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun. The generation chronicled by Cronin was one of wasted promise. That waste is redressed through the shimmering prose of Dead as Doornails, earning its place in Irish literary history alongside the best works of Behan, Kavanagh and Myles.

About the Author

ANTHONY CRONIN was one of Ireland's leading men of letters. He was the author of novels (The Life of Riley, Identity Papers), criticism (A Question of Modernity, Heritage Now), several volumes of poetry (most recently The Minotaur), and acclaimed biographies of Flann O'Brien and Samuel Beckett. He passed away in December 2016.

Delivery Info

We provide FREE delivery in the Republic of Ireland when you spend €49 or more. 

FREE Click & Collect from The Ennis Bookshop. You will not be charged for this service.  We are happy to arrange Delivery outside Ireland. Please e-mail us at enquiries@ennisbookshop.ie for more information. 

Find out more about our Delivery & Collection services

Returns Policy

We want you to be completely satisfied with your order and we would hope to resolve any problems you may have. If you are unhappy with your purchase, we will exchange or refund the item or issue a credit note, providing the goods are not damaged and all packaging is still intact.

Terms and conditions apply.

Please view our full Returns Policy for further information.

Click to view complete product details

More Like This

Katriona O'Sullivan Poor

€15.95

A classic; of his mastery of language there can be no doubt' -- Anthony Burgess


A classic; of his mastery of language there can be no doubt' -- Anthony Burgess


One of my favourite books about the Irish literary scene ... It's a marvellous book.

-- Joseph O'Connor
Close

POP-IN HTML goes here

Close

Your Basket

Your basket is currently empty