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Juno and the Paycock First Draft at the National Library of Ireland

The Gate Theatre’s 1986 production of Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey. Photo by Tom Lawlor

The National Library of Ireland has acquired the first draft of Juno and the Paycock at auction in New York. This was made possible by special allocation funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the National Library of Ireland trust.

Library director Dr Sandra Collins said the library looked forward to “reserving this precious piece of Irish history and literature and exhibiting it in the library for all to enjoy”. This is wonderful news. It is gratifying that this manuscript should return to Ireland.

The first draft is significant in that it shows how the play evolved and what Sean’s early thoughts on the play were. The title on the exercise book is Juno and the Peacock. The National Library of Ireland already holds a significant number of manuscripts and correspondence by and on Sean. This first draft is a wonderful addition to that resource.

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News

Sean O’Casey Production Image Galleries

We are happy to present image galleries of production photographs of some of Sean’s plays. We will be adding more images as they become available.

The Plough and the Stars 2012 Abbey Theatre, Gabrielle Reidy, Kelly Campbell and Joe Hanley, Photo Credit Ros Kavanagh
The Plough and the Stars 2012 Abbey Theatre, Gabrielle Reidy, Kelly Campbell and Joe Hanley, Photo Credit Ros Kavanagh
The Gate Theatre’s 1986 production of Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey. Photo by Tom Lawlor
The Gate Theatre’s 1986 production of Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey. Photo by Tom Lawlor

Thank you to the Abbey, Gate and Tricycle theatres and the photographers for providing these great images to us.

 

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Productions

The Plough and the Stars at The Abbey Theatre 2016

Abbey Theatre
By Flickr user bjaglin (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Plough and the Stars will be part of the Abbey Theatre’s Waking the Nation season in 2016. Abbey Theatre Director Fiach Mac Conghail has announced a major programme of work, “to commemorate and acknowledge the major historical events of 1916”.

The season will include productions of The Plough and the Stars, directed by Sean Holmes, and Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. In addition there will be several new works performed by writers such as David Ireland, Sean P. Summers and Phillip McMahon.

The Plough and the Stars will run at the Abbey from 9 March – 23 April 2016 and then embark on a tour of Ireland taking in Cork Opera House; The National Opera House, Wexford; Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick and Town Hall Theatre, Galway. In addition there will be a tour of North America to Harvard University’s American Repertory Theater (Massachusetts); the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (Philadelphia); Montclair State University’s Peak Performances, (New Jersey) and Southern Theatre, (Ohio).