Syd Cheatle (born 6 January 1936) was an Irish architect and writer born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. His father was Jack Cheatle, who was leader of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra while his mother was Aileen Foley, a cellist from Skibbereen. Syd attended Castleknock College before going to Dublin Institute of Technology to study architecture. After training he left Ireland to start his career as a writer. After leaving Ireland for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to write, 1970 saw his first two plays, ''Retreat'' and ''The Director'' produced by the

Abbey Theatre 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 ...

in Dublin in 1970. His next play, ''Straight Up'', received its premiere at the Traverse Theatre in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and subsequently transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre in London in December 1971. It premiered in the US at the Kansas City playhouse in 1973 with subsequent productions in Seattle, Newhaven, Washington DC and New York City. ''Straight Up'' was translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

by Jurgen and Astrid Fischer and given the German title ''Im Schoss der Familie''. The translation premiered in Germany at the

Landestheater Darmstadt The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its history began i ...

in 1972, and was then successful over a 14-year period with German and Austrian major productions in cities such as

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. ''Straight Up'' was premiered in Australia by the Western Australia Theatre Company in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. He also worked as an architect in London with Idea International, he was involved in many high-profile projects all over the world but the most prestigious was probably the

Lloyds Building The Lloyd's building (sometimes known as the Inside-Out Building) is the home of the insurance institution Lloyd's of London. It is located on the former site of East India House in Lime Street, in London's main financial district, the City of ...

in London but he was growing increasingly homesick. He leased a house on

Sherkin Island Sherkin Island, historically called Inisherkin (), lies southwest of County Cork in Ireland alongside other islands of Roaringwater Bay. It had a population of 111 people at the time of the 2016 Census, and measures long by wide. The isl ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

and split his time between London and the island until he moved there permanently in 1989. He threw himself into island life and was advocated on behalf of the community on Sherkin and other island communities for local authorities to support them. Cheatle died on 22 March 2018 at the age of 82, when he was a resident in a nursing home in Clonakilty. He was survived by his wife Miriam, ''née'' Dunne, and his three children, His grave is in Tullagh Cemetery, Baltimore, County Cork.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheatle, Syd 1943 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male dramatists and playwrights Architects from Dublin (city) 20th-century male writers