David Marcus
1924 - 2009
David Marcus was born into the Jewish community in Cork in 1924 and was educated at University College Cork and the King's Inns. After practising for a short time at the Bar, he started concentrating on editing, publishing and writing. He founded and edited the quarterlies Irish Writing (1946-1954) and Poetry Ireland (1943-1954), and then spent 13 years in London. He returned to Dublin in 1967 and in 1968 was appointed Literary Editor of The Irish Press, where he went on to establish the celebrated 'New Irish Writing' page. Generally recognised to be one of the most influential Literary Editors is Irish media history,he retired from the Irish Press in 1986 to devote more time to writing. He also wrote extensively about the complexities of Irish-Jewish identity, including his memoir 'Oughtobiography: Leaves from the Diary of a Hyphenated Jew'.He was awarded the Rooney Prize for his services to Irish Literature in 2001. David Marcus died in Dublin in 2009. He was 85.