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John Le Carré: Grandmother lived in Ireland
Photo: David Levenson / Getty Images
The writer John Le Carré, who died in December, took on Irish citizenship shortly before his death.
As one of the writer's sons, Nick Cornwell, told the BBC for a radio show scheduled for Saturday, one of the last photos of him featured Le Carré "wrapped in an Irish flag" and "smiling".
Le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell, was a staunch opponent of Brexit.
The BBC program was produced by Le Carré's friend Philippe Sands.
"He was an Irish citizen when he died," said Nick Cornwell, whose comments had been published in advance by The Times newspaper.
Le Carré remembered his Irish roots and went to Cork in the south of Ireland, where his grandmother had lived.
There he was received by the city archivist with the words "Welcome home," said Nick Cornwell.
Because of the Brexit, many Brits with Irish roots have applied for Irish citizenship.
In this way, they can continue to enjoy freedom of movement in the European Union.
In his last novel, which appeared in October 2019, Le Carré painted a gloomy picture of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom he described as an "ignoramus".
Britain is in free fall in this novel.
Le Carré made his big breakthrough in 1963 with the spy thriller »The Spy Who Came Out of the Cold«.
A good two dozen books followed.
He was also regarded as a keen observer of social developments, who often commented on world events.
With clear words he criticized the Iraq war in 2003, the populist movements in Poland and Hungary and the policies of US President Donald Trump.
He did not skimp on criticizing the British government either.
He found the country's exit from the EU painful and very annoying: "It is without a doubt the greatest disaster and the greatest idiocy that Great Britain has caused since the Suez crisis in 1956," said Le Carré, who is 89 years old.
feb / dpa / AFP / Reuters