'Angela's Ashes'' author Frank McCourt dead at 78

Tributes pour in from Irish America as celebrated writer dies

By

CAHIR O'DOHERTY,

IrishCentral.Com Staff Writer

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Irish Writer Frank McCourt in Limerick City with the Shannon River and the Walls of Limerick in the Background

Photo by Photocall Ireland

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PHOTO GALLERY / FRANK McCOURT IN PICTURES / CLICK HERE

NIALL O'DOWD / THE FRANK McCOURT I KNEW / CLICK HERE

VIDEO / FRANK McCOURT AT NEW YORK STATE WRITER'S INSTITUTE  / CLICK HERE

ARCHIVE / 1997 INTERVIEW / CLICK HERE

WOLFHOUND: CATHOLIC LEAGUE BOSS BASHES McCOURT; HE IS TRULY "ANGELA'S ARSE'

 "Scatter my ashes on the Shannon." That was the last request from Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of  “Angela’s Ashes."

McCourt died at a Manhattan hospice today surrounded by family and friends who had been keeping vigil with his wife Ellen over the past week.

McCourt had recently been treated for melanoma but became gravely ill with meningitis last week.

NIall O'Dowd, the publisher of IrishCentral.com said "The greatest tribute I can pay Frank McCourt is that he never lost the run of himself.

In May 2009 a publicist for McCourt first confirmed to the press that he had cancer.

McCourt was being treated for melanoma, said his agent Molly Friedrich, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Although the sad news was greeted with shock today in the Irish community, in May McCourt’s well-known brother Malachy initially sought to calm nerves by telling the press the reports were “exaggerated” and that his brother was “a hearty fellow and he’s survived worse than this.”

On hearing of his death today critics have begun the task of assessing McCourt’s legacy.

It would be hard to understate his achievements.

As the author of “Angela’s Ashes,” a searing and unforgettable account of his impoverished Irish upbringing in Limerick - that spent a remarkable 117 weeks on The New York Times hardcover best-seller list - McCourt has assured his place in the august company of great Irish writers.

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