David Ireland (born 1976) is a Northern Irish-born playwright and actor, known for his award-winning plays ''Cyprus Avenue'' and ''Ulster American''.

Early life and career

Ireland was born in

Sandy Row Sandy Row () is a large inner city estate in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lends its name to the surrounding residential community, which is predominantly Protestant working-class. The Sandy Row area had a population of 2,153 in 2001; in 2 ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, but grew up in

Ballybeen Ballybeen (), also known as Ballybeen Housing Estate, is the second-biggest housing estate in Northern Ireland. It is in the village of Dundonald, on the outskirts of east Belfast. It lies within the townlands of Ballybeen and Carrowreagh, betwee ...

Dundonald, County Down Dundonald () is a large settlement and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies east of Belfast and is often considered a suburb of the city. It is home to the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald International Ice Bowl, Dundonald Omnipark ...

, where he attended Brooklands Primary School. He then attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, before receiving training at the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

. In 2009, Ireland's ''What The Animals Say'' was produced by Òran Mór in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 2010, ''Everything Between Us'', first produced by

Solas Nua Solas Nua (; "new light" in Irish) is a Washington, D.C.-based Irish contemporary arts organization. Founded in 2005, its first event was a production of the play ''Disco Pigs'' by Enda Walsh. While it is best known for its theater offerings, Sol ...

and Tinderbox Theatre Company, was performed in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and Washington, D.C. It won the Stewart Parker Trust BBC Radio Drama Award, and the

Meyer-Whitworth Award The Meyer-Whitworth Award was a literary prize established in 1991 and awarded from 1992 until 2011 to new British playwrights to help them further their careers. The £10,000 prize, one of the largest annual prizes for play writing in the UK, was ...

for Best New Play. In 2016, Ireland's ''Cyprus Avenue'' premiered at the Royal Court Theatre. It was awarded the 2017 Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Play, and the 2017 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama. The play then transferred to The Public Theater, New York City, the

Abbey Theatre, Dublin The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

, and the Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast. It returned to the Royal Court in February 2019 for a four-week run, and had its Australian debut in May 2019 at Sydney's

Old Fitzroy Theatre The Old Fitzroy Theatre (also called the Old Fitz Theatre) is a pub theatre in Woolloomooloo in central Sydney, Australia. The 58-seat venue was established by Jeremy Cumpston in 1997 in the cellar of the Old Fitzroy Hotel. It is known for indep ...

. The Abbey Theatre performance with Stephen Rea was ranked by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' writers as the 27th best theatre show since 2000. In 2018, Ireland's

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

dark comedy ''Ulster American'' was performed by Traverse Theatre as part of their

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

season. It was awarded the

Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award The Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award is a theater prize given annually at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. History The Award has presented by the Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation since 2004. In a formal agreement with the Fringe Society, it ...

for that year. In 2019, it was nominated for Best Female Performance, Best New Play, Best Production, and Best Male Performance at the

Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland The Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) are an annual event awarding performances "substantially produced in Scotland, or developed, rehearsed and premiered in Scotland". Awards ceremony The ceremony is itinerant in terms of location, sw ...

, winning the first three. Ireland had two lines in the first episode of 2018's '' Derry Girls''. He wrote the upcoming in 2023 Sky Atlantic series ''

The Lovers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

Personal life

Ireland met his wife Jennifer while he was acting in Glasgow, where they now live with their children Ada and Elijah. He is a huge fan of Irish League side Linfield, but doesn’t like to admit it.

Selected works

*''What The Animals Say'' (Òran Mór,

, 2009) *''Everything Between Us'' (Tinderbox Theatre Company, 2010) *''Summertime'' (Tinderbox Theatre Company, 2013) *''Can't Forget About You'' ( Lyric Theatre, Belfast, 2013) *''Cyprus Avenue'' ( Royal Court Theatre, 2016) *''The End of Hope'' ( Soho Theatre, 2017) *''Ulster American'' ( Traverse Theatre, 2018) *''Yes So I Said Yes'' ( Finborough Theatre, 2021)

Selected awards

*2017 Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Play – ''Cyprus Avenue'' *2017 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama – ''Cyprus Avenue'' *2018

– ''Ulster American'' *2019

for Best Female Performance, Best New Play, and Best Production – ''Ulster American''

Selected filmography

*''

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

'' (2 episodes, 2014) Finlay Caulfield - S2 Ep5/6 *''

Still Game ''Still Game'' is a Scottish sitcom, produced by The Comedy Unit with BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis, Esq and Victor McDade, two Glaswegian pensioners. The characte ...

'' (1 episode, 2016) *'' Derry Girls'' (3 episodes, 2018-2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, David 1976 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Male dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Writers from Belfast