This New Documentary Looks Back At Irish Feminist Icon Edna O’Brien’s Legacy
Words: Dray Morgan
Released in January, ‘Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story’, is a compelling film detailing the truly unique life of Irish author Edna O’Brien. Containing her final interview, the work looks back on one of Ireland’s most controversial authors who exemplified the deep-seated misogyny in 20th century Irish society.
Edna O’Brien shone a light on the women suffering under Catholic Rule in Ireland. Highly regarded in most of the Western world, O’Brien was scandalised in Ireland due to her outspokenness towards religious authorities. One of her most famous series of work was the “Country Girls”, which broke taboos of the sexual repression of women in Ireland. After writing the novel O’Brien’s own husband told her “You can write and I will never forgive you.” which mirrored most of the sentiment in her native Ireland. The church service in her hometown of Tuamgraney, Co. Clare stated she “should be kicked naked through the streets”.
The book was banned for “sexual imagery” which by today’s standards would have been considered extremely tame.
Throughout her life, Edna was also known as a roaring socialite, hosting extravagant parties at her home in London. Vanity Fair called her “The Playgirl of the Western World”, a play on the classic Irish novel’s title. Icons such as Marlon Brando, Judy Garland and Samuel Beckett were attendees of her soirees. The documentary also delves into O’Brien’s experimentation with drugs such as LSD alongside some of the world’s leading psychologists.
O’Brien is also one of Ireland’s most prolific authors, writing approximately a book a year until she was 88 years old. Her final novel still caused waves of controversy, with its contents centring around the story of Nigerian Schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.
O’Brien passed away on 27 July 2024 at the age of 93 only shortly after giving her final interview for this documentary.
