Samuel Beckett

:For other things named Beckett, see Beckett (disambiguation)

Early life and education

The Beckett family (originally Becquet) were of Huguenot stock and had moved to Ireland from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The family home, Cooldrinagh in the Dublin suburb of Foxrock, was a large house and garden complete with tennis court and had been built in 1903 by Beckett's father William. The house and garden, together with the surrounding countryside where he often went walking with his father, the nearby Leopardstown Racecourse, Foxrock railway station and Harcourt Street station at the city terminus of the line were all later to feature in his prose and plays.

Related Topics:
Huguenot - France - Edict of Nantes - 1685 - Dublin - Foxrock - 1903

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the age of five, Beckett attended a local kindergarten where he first started to learn music and then moved to Earlsford House School in the city centre near Harcourt Street. In 1919, Beckett went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh (Oscar Wilde's old school). A natural athlete, he excelled at cricket as a left hand batsman and left arm medium pace bowler. Later on, he was to play for Dublin University and played two first-class games against Northamptonshire. As a result, he became the only Nobel laureate to have an entry in Wisden, the cricket bible.

Related Topics:
1919 - Portora Royal School - Enniskillen - County Fermanagh - Oscar Wilde - Cricket - First-class - Northamptonshire - Wisden

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~