W. G. Fay's Irish National Dramatic Company was a precursor to

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 ...

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 ...

. It was founded in 1902 by two Irish brothers,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and Frank Fay. William had worked for a time in the 1890s with a touring company in Ireland,

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

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

while Frank was heavily involved in amateur dramatics in Dublin. After William returned, the brothers began to stage productions in halls around the city. Finally, they formed the company, which focused on the development of Irish acting talent.Ted Kenny (nephew of Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh): The Splendid Years: recollections of Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh, as told to Edward Kenny, with appendices and lists of Irish theatre plays, 1899-1916. Duffy and Co., Dublin. 1955The Abbey 1904-1978, pp. 37-39 Participants included

Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh (8 May 1883 – 1958) was an Irish actress and republican activist. She started acting in her teens and appeared in the first Irish-language play performed in Ireland. She was a founder-member of the Abbey Theatre and ...

Helen Laird Helen Laird (1874–1957), was an Irish actress also known as ‘Honor Lavelle’, a costumier, teacher, and feminist. Life and acting Laird was born on 12 April 1874 in Limerick to John Laird and Marion Seymour. Her father was a protestant p ...

, Máire T. Quinn, Brian Callender, Charles Caulfield, James H. Cousins and Dudley Digges. Their first production, Cathleen Ni Houlihan, was on 2 April 1902. In March 1903 came the first production of ''The Hour-Glass''. The company acquired rooms at 34 Lower Camden St., which they turned into a small theatre. In 1903 the playwrights and most of the actors went on to form the

Irish National Theatre Society 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 ...

, which had its registered offices in Camden St., and which later became the Abbey Theatre.

References

Theatre companies in the Republic of Ireland {{theatre-stub