The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SHERIDAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
S
H
E
R
I
D
A
N
More clues leading to the result SHERIDAN
- Le Fanu? Who scandalised the educational establishment?
- Dramatist's Bottom taken up by this lady
- Playwright, Shaw, not half confusing reading, mostly
- Princess supporting actor and new dramatist
- Haggard heroine recalling low point for dramatist
- Woman’s passport maybe found in hospital
- Comic writer‘s novel managed to skirt round primitive urges
- Woman pushing up bottom
- Writer
- Playwright‘s lowest point — what son rejected
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Irish writer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case irish writer = sheridan.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.