Tim O'Keeffe through his work in publishing has provided encouragement and stimulation for Irish writers
Tim O'Keeffe was born in Kinsale, County Cork in 1926 and spent his formative years there which he remembers as "almost miraculously pleasant". Having won an open scholarship to Oxford he read history and literature. He graduated in 1950 having also spent four years in military service mainly in the Middle East. He decided on a career in publishing which gave him a great level of personal fulfilment. He worked with Hutchinson's and later with MacGibbon & Kee publishing houses.
He has been instrumental in publishing much important work by new Irish authors.
Some of his more notable achievements were publishing the works of Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O'Brien.
Tim O’Keeffe explains his reasons for going into publishing in the first place and outlines the role of the publisher. He recalls that during his time as a student at Oxford, there was nobody else to his knowledge who had considered publishing as a career. Describing himself as quite a voracious reader, he became interested in who was publishing the books that he enjoyed the most, a process which he describes as "amateur proving".
This episode of 'Writer in Profile’ was broadcast on 16 February 1971. The presenter is Niall Sheridan.
'Writer in Profile' was a weekly series presenting interviews with well-known Irish writers. The first episode was broadcast on 29 October 1968. 'Writer in Profile' was produced by James Plunkett.
