Brinsley MacNamara competed in the literature section of the arts competition at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games, one of four Irish writers to enter literary works in what was the first Olympic Games at which Ireland won medals – both in the arts competition.

MacNamara was one of the most significant Irish writers of his era, best known for his novel The Valley of the Squinting Windows (1918), which caused a public scandal in his native Delvin, County Westmeath. He was a playwright and novelist of considerable reputation and a member of the Abbey Theatre.