Oliver St John Gogarty, MD (1878–1957): quintessential Irish Literary Renaissance figure

Abstract

Oliver St John Gogarty (1878-1957) was a quintessential figure of the Irish literary renaissance. He was a successful surgeon, accomplished lyric poet, a man of letters, a senator in the first Irish Free State and a celebrated wit. While pursuing a successful career in ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgery, Gogarty served a brief, nearly lethal term in politics. He devoted the last several years of his life to a remarkably versatile literary career, the spectrum of his creativity including elegant lyric poetry, autobiographies, biographies, essays, novels and parodies.