Categories
History

Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks Includes The Plough and the Stars

Sackville Street (Dublin) after the 1916 Easter Rising
Sackville (now O’Connell) Street, Dublin, after the 1916 Easter Rising
The Irish Times is running a series of articles looking at modern Ireland through artworks in various media. The Plough and the Stars has been included with an article by Fintan O’Toole looking at the context of the play and its impact.

It was not unreasonable to expect that the Abbey would mark the [tenth] anniversary [of the Easter Rising] respectfully. Instead it presented Seán O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars, which presented the Rising through the experiences of those who suffered most in Easter Week: the Dublin slum dwellers unwillingly thrust on to the frontline. And it suggested that, for them, the great event had brought nothing but deeper misery.

The article looks at how W.B. Yates defended the play and importance of the ability to accept failings and ambiguities as a mark of a mature nation.

The series of articles looks at many different artworks and their impact on Ireland and the wider world.

Categories
News

Rod Taylor, Australian Actor and Young Cassidy, 1930 – 2015

Rod Taylor, died at home inRod Taylor - 1967 Los Angeles on January 7th at the age of 84. A strong leading man, he played many notable roles through his career including Johnny in the Sean O’Casey biopic Young Cassidy in 1965.

He played alongside many other great actors in notable films such as GiantOne Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Birds and Zabriskie Point.

Announcing his death Rod’s daughter Felicia Taylor said in a statement:

“My dad loved his work. Being an actor was his passion – calling it an honorable art and something he couldn’t live without.”

Further obituaries and articles,