Christopher Nolan, an Irish poet and novelist who refused to let cerebral palsy get in the way of his writing, has died. He was 43.

Nolan choked on a piece of food Friday at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, according to a statement from his family carried in the Irish media. The hospital confirmed his death Saturday.

“Christopher Nolan was a gifted writer who attained deserved success and acclaim throughout the world for his work,” Irish President Mary McAleese said in a statement, adding that his achievements were “all the more remarkable given his daily battle with cerebral palsy.”

Nolan published a volume of poems and short stories entitled Dam Burst of Dreams in 1981 when he was 15.

His second book, an autobiography told in the third-person entitled Under the Eye of the Clock , was published when he was 22. It was awarded the illustrious Whitbread Book of the Year award in 1988. The book was later adapted for the stage by Michael Scott and performed as Torchlight and Lazer Beams.

In 1999, his novel The Banyan Tree , which chronicles the life of Westmeath woman Minnie O’Brien, was published to critical acclaim.

More of this story here:
• Christopher Nolan, Irish novelist, dies at 43 – TODAY: Book news- msnbc.com.

• Irish author Christopher Nolan dies – The Irish Times – Fri, Feb 20, 2009.