David Ireland

David Neil Ireland (24 August 1927 – 26 July 2022) was an Australian novelist.

Background David Ireland was born in Lakemba in south-west Sydney in New South Wales in 1927.

Before taking up full-time writing in 1973, he undertook the classic writer's apprenticeship by working in a variety of jobs, ranging from greenskeeper to an extended period in the Silverwater oil refinery, on the river downstream of Parramatta.

In 1978, Film Australia offered government funding for a movie of The Unknown Industrial Prisoner. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser's Home Affairs Minister, Bob Ellicott, intervened to stop this. This was seen as unwelcome political interference in a small but growing Australian film industry.

Ireland lived and died in New South Wales, Australia. He died on 26 July 2022 aged 94.

Honours and awards 1966 – winner The Advertiser Literary Competition for The Chantic Bird 1971 – winner Miles Franklin Award for The Unknown Industrial Prisoner 1976 – winner Miles Franklin Award for The Glass Canoe 1979 – winner Miles Franklin Award for A Woman of the Future 1980 – joint winner The Age Book of the Year Award A Woman of the Future 1985 – winner Australian Literature Society Gold Medal for Archimedes and the Seagle

He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 1981.