Thomas F. Kilroy (born 23 September 1934) is an Irish playwright and novelist. He was born in Green Street,

Callan, County Kilkenny Callan () is a town and civil parish in County Kilkenny in Ireland. Situated 16 km (10 mi) south of Kilkenny on the N76 road to Clonmel, it is near the border with County Tipperary. It is the second largest town in the county, and had a ...

. He attended

St Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the pas ...

and played

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

for the school team, captaining the senior team in 1952. He studied at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. In his early career he was play editor at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. In the 1980s, he sat on the board of

Field Day Theatre Company The Field Day Theatre Company began as an artistic collaboration between playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea. In 1980, the duo set out to launch a production of Friel's recently completed play, ''Translations''. They decided to rehearse ...

, founded by

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

and

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...

in 1980, and was Director of its touring company. In 1978, Kilroy was appointed Professor of English at

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, a post from which he resigned in 1989 to concentrate on writing. Kilroy now lives in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

and is a member of the

Irish Academy of Letters Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

, and

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

. The Thomas Kilroy Collection, his personal archive, was deposited at Galway University's

James Hardiman Library The James Hardiman Library ( ga, Leabharlann Shéamais Uí Argadáin) serves the University of Galway in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", which means that publishers in the country must deposit a copy of ...

; Kilroy addressed the launch event in March 2011, which was attended by, amongst others,

and the future President of Ireland

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

Awards and honours

*2008

Irish PEN Award Irish PEN Award for Literature is an annual literary award presented by Irish PEN since 1999. Its intent is to honour an Irish-born writer who has made an outstanding contribution to Irish literature. The award is for a significant body of work an ...

Plays

*''The Death and Resurrection of Mr Roche'', The Dublin Theatre Festival, 1968. Published by Faber & Faber, Grove Press, 1968; *''The O'Neill'', The Peacock Theatre, Dublin, 1969. Published by The Gallery Press, Oldcastle, Co Meath, 1995; *''Talbot's Box'', The Peacock, 1973. Published by The Gallery Press/Delaware, Proscenium Press, 1979; *''Sex and Shakespheare'', The Abbey, 1976. Revised edition published by The Gallery Press, 1998; *
Double Cross
', Field Day Theatre Company, 1986. Published by Faber & Faber, 1986. Translated into French as ''Double jeu'' by Alexandra Poulain, 1996; *
The Madame MacAdam Travelling Theatre
', The Field Day Theatre Company, 1992. Published by Methuen, 1992; *''The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde'', The Abbey, 1997 and Melbourne Festival 1998. Published by The Gallery Press, 1997; *''Blake'', 2001. Published by The Gallery Press, 2015; *''The Shape of Metal'', The Peacock, 2003. Published by The Gallery Press; *''My Scandalous Life'', 2004. Published by The Gallery Press; *''Christ Deliver Us!'', 2010, Abbey Theatre.

Adaptations

*''The Seagull'' (

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

), The

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

, London, 1981. Published by Eyre Methuen, 1981; *''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' (

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

), The Peacock Theatre, Dublin, 1989; *''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( Pirandello) 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 ...

, Dublin, 1996.

Books

*''

The Big Chapel The Big Chapel is a novel written by Thomas Kilroy that was shortlisted for the 1971 Booker Prize and recipient of the Guardian Fiction Prize (also 1971) as well as the Heinemann Prize. Plot The Big Chapel – part of the Liberties Revival seri ...

'', Faber & Faber, 1971; Liberties Press, 2009. This novel was awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize, 1971 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. *''Sean O'Casey: a Collection of Critical Essays'', Ed., Prentice Hall, 1975,

Pieces for Radio

*''The Door'', BBC Radio 4, 27 October 1967; *''That Man Bracken'', BBC Radio 3, 20 June 1986; *''The Colleen and the Cowboy'', RTÉ Radio, Prod. Kate Minogue, 11 September 2005.

Pieces for Television

*''Farmers'', Radio Telefís Éireann, 1978; *''Gold in the Streets'', 1993; *''The Black Joker''.

Academic Works

*''Satirical elements in the prose of Thomas Nashe.'' Thesis (M.A.), University College Dublin, 1959. * * * *''The Outsider.'', The Irish Times 16 April 1971. *''Synge and Modernism.'', in J. M. Synge Centenary Papers. 1971. Ed. Maurice Harmon. Dublin. Dolmen Press, 1972. 167–79. *''Synge the Dramatist.'', Mosaic 5.1 (1972): 9–16. *''Tellers of Tales.'', Times Literary Supplement. 17 March 1972: 301–02. *''The Writer’s Group in Galway.'', The Irish Times. 8 April 1976. *''Two Playwrights: Yeats and Beckett.'', Myth and Reality in Irish Literature. Ed. Joseph Ronsley. Toronto: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1977. 183–95. * *''The Moon and the Yellow River : Denis Johnson’s Shavianism.'', Denis Johnson : A Retrospective. Joseph Ronsley Ed. Irish Literary Studies 8. Gerrards Cross, Bucks : Colin Smythe, 1981 ; Totawa, New Jersey : Barnes and Noble, 1982. 49 – 58. *''The Irish Writer: Self and Society, 1950–1980.'', Literature and the Changing Ireland. Irish Literary Studies 9. Ed. Peter Connolly. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 1982. 175–87. *''The Anglo-Irish.'', The Irish Times. 7 December 1983. *''Goldsmith the Playwright.'', Goldsmith, the Gentle Master. Ed.

Sean Lucy Sean Lucy (March 12, 1931 – July 25, 2001) was an Irish poet and educator. Biography Lucy was born in Bombay, British India in 1931. His father was an Irish officer in the British army, who resigned his commission in 1935 to resettle the famil ...

. Cork: Cork University Press, 1984. 66–77. *''Brecht, Beckett, and Williams.'', Sagetrieb 3.2 (Fall 1984): 81–87. *''The Autobiographical Novel.'', The Genius of Irish Prose. Augustine Martin Ed. Thomas Davis Lecture Series. Dublin : Mercier Press in collaboration with Radio Telefís Éireann, 1985. 65–75. *''Ireland’s Pseudo-Englishman. '', Magill 11.5 January 1988 : 52–54. *''Reassessment. Thomas Kilroy on J.M. Synge : The Complex Creator of a Closed World.'', The Irish Times 29 April 1989. *''Secularized Ireland.'', Culture in Ireland : Division and Diversity ? Proceedings of the Cultures of Ireland Group Conference, 27–28 September 1991. Ed. Edna Longley. Belfast : Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University Belfast, 1991. 135 – 141. * *''Theatrical Text and Literary Text.'', The Achievement of Brian Friel. Ed. Alan J. Peacock. Gerrard's Cross: Bucks, Colin Smythe, 1993. 91–102. *''Some Irish Poems of Yeats,'', Eibei-Bungaku. Koka Women's University, 11.3 (March 1994) : 41 – 53. *''The Literary Tradition of Irish Drama.'', Anglistentag 1994 graz : Proceedings. W. Rioehle, H. Keiper edc. Tübingen : Niemeyer, 1995. 7 – 15. *''John Bull’s Other Island : Shaw’s Irish Play. '', Banado Sho Kenkyu. Vol. 3, 1995, 11.1 1–20. *''Chekhov and the Irish.'', Program Note. Chekhov's Uncle Vanya adapt. Frank McGuinness. Field Day Theatre Company. 1995. *''From Page to Stage.'', Irish Writers and Their Creative Process. Ed. Jacqueline Genet and Wynne Hellegouarc’h. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 1996. 55–62. *''The Anglo-Irish Theatrical Imagination.'', Bullan, an Irish Studies journal 3.2 (Winter 1997/ Spring 1998), 5 – 12. * *''The Seagull, an Adaptation.'', The Cambridge Companion to Chekhov. Ed. Vera Gottlieg and Paul Allain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 80–90. *''The Wildean Triangle.'', What Revels Are in Hand ? Assessment of Contemporary Drama in English in Honor of W. Lippke. B. Reitz, H. Stahl, eds. *''Contemporary Drama in English.'', (CDE Studies) 8 Trier : WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2001. 47 – 55.

Unpublished

*''Dreaming House'', a Play about George Moore, 1990.

Works about Thomas Kilroy

*''Le théâtre de Thomas Kilroy.'', Thierry Dubost, Presses Universitaires de Caen, 2001, English edition ''The Plays of Thomas Kilroy: A Critical Study'', McFarland, 2007 *
O'Malley, Aidan. ''Field Day and the Translation of Irish Identities: Performing Contradictions''. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
(Sections on ''Double Cross'' and ''The Madame MacAdam Travelling Theatre'')

Awards

*Guardian Fiction Prize, 1971; *Heinemann Award for Literature; *AIB Literary Prize; *American-Irish Foundation Award for Literature; *Rockefeller Foundation Residency; *Kyoto University Foundation Fellowship; *Prix Nikki Special Commendation; *Lifetime Achievement, Irish Times / ESB Theatre Award, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilroy, Thomas 1934 births Living people Academics of the University of Galway Aosdána members Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish PEN Award for Literature winners People from Callan, County Kilkenny 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male writers 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Irish male writers