Jamie O'Neill is an Irish author born on 1 January 1962. He is renowned for his critically acclaimed novel, At Swim, Two Boys (2001), which earned him the highest advance ever paid for an Irish novel. O'Neill is frequently praised as the natural successor to literary giants like James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, and Samuel Beckett.

O'Neill currently resides in Gortachalla, County Galway, after spending two decades living and working in England. His work is noted for following the imaginative route in Irish literature, setting him apart from his realist contemporaries such as Colm Tóibín or John McGahern.

He was born in Dún Laoghaire and educated at Presentation College in Glasthule, County Dublin. Despite growing up in a home without books, O'Neill discovered a love for reading through Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. His unique experiences in London and Greece also shaped his literary voice.