Such practices are, however, changing to a degree. 5 The Best of Myles and other Cruiskeen Lawn anthologies, for example, were published under the name Flann O’Brien and not Myles na gCopaleen. Early on, the absence of a shared convention or a clear standard of reference gave rise to an implicit debate a contested field with certain titles appearing to favour heteronymy and others tending towards editorial decisions that limit or contain the proliferation of multiple identities. The intent of this special forum is to facilitate a thorough investigation of matters of influence across the personas of Brian O’Nolan as a necessary endeavour for the current moment in ‘Flann O’Brien’ Studies.Ī noticeable inconstancy exists in how the pseudonyms are referred to or compiled in different phases of O’Brien Studies. The task, then, is to explore if and how O’Nolan’s different pseudonyms and literary styles may influence each other, on the one hand, and potentially destabilise each other, on the other hand. Paul Fagan asserts that ‘O’Nolan’s project of representing and exploring a series of selves is bound up with his resistance to the authority and ethicality of the reader’s impossible epistemological vantage point in the literary event.’ 4 Consequently, the establishment of a coherent category for all of O’Nolan’s pseudonyms may indeed be overly reductive for a writer so blatantly intent on destabilising notions of a singular authorial identity. At the same time, resistance to authorial categorisation is intrinsic to the biographical individual named – for the most part – Brian O’Nolan. 3 The problematic nature of authorial identity regarding Brian O’Nolan and his various personas continually threatens the stability of the field which currently operates under the name of ‘Flann O’Brien Studies’.

2 Admittedly, na gCopaleenians or O’Brienians make for awkward constructions, especially when compared with the more clever and stylish terms currently in use. 1 Even the title used to identify those invested in the field, namely Flanneurs or Mylesians, sounds casual compared to the more formal designations in other areas of literary and cultural studies (Joyceans, Yeatsians, or Beckettians). Flann O’Brien Studies is one of the few literary fields which comfortably refer to their subject of study by the author’s first name.

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien