O’Brien’s scarlet reputation rested upon her scandalising debut novel The Country Girls, which told the story of rural convent girls Caithleen Brady and Bridget Brennan as they journey from a rural convent to the risks and adventures of Dublin. The first of what ended up as a trilogy, all three books were banned in Ireland, labelled as "filth" by Minister of Justice Charles Haughey and burned publicly in O’Brien’s hometown of Tuamgraney, County Clare. Detractors also included O’Brien’s parents and her husband, the author Ernest Gebler, from whom O’Brien was already becoming estranged. By the mid-1960s O’Brien was single and enjoying the prime of Swinging London, whether socialising with Princess Margaret and Marianne Faithfull, having a fling with actor Robert Mitchum or hanging out with Paul McCartney. In later years she dined at the White House with then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jack Nicholson, and befriended Jacqueline Kennedy.
O’Brien published more than 20 books. Most dealt frankly with sex and relationships and many fell foul of Ireland’s censors. Despite her reputation, O’Brien was beloved by readers in her home country and in 2015 she was elected to Ireland’s academy of artists, Aosdana, and given its highest title, Saoi. In 2018 O’Brien was appointed an honorary Dame of the Order of the British Empire. She died on July 27 aged 93. — Agencies
