Wesley Burrowes (15 April 193031 December 2015) was an Irish playwright and screenwriter. Originally from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, he became a resident of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. He was best known as the chief scriptwriter on ''

The Riordans ''The Riordans'' was the second Irish television drama serial made by Raidio Telefís Éireann (then called ''Telefís Éireann''). It ran from 1965 to 1979 and was set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny. Its location fil ...

'' and ''

Glenroe ''Glenroe'' was a television drama series broadcast on RTÉ One in Ireland between September 1983, when the first episode was aired, and May 2001. A spin-off from ''Bracken'' — a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from ''The Riordans'' � ...

'', two of the most successful drama series produced by

RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland's state controlled national broadcaster. Its first channel was Teilifís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RT ...

Early life

Wesley Burrowes was born and raised in

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...

in Northern Ireland. From a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

background, Burrowes was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

, a

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 ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

, and went on to study French and German at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, graduating in 1952.''The Irish Times'', "Remit of educating farmers launched career in TV drama", 2 June 2001. Following graduation, Burrowes moved 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 ...

to work for the Commercial Insurance Company. In 1959, he switched jobs to Córas Tráchtála, an Irish government body which promoted exports. He combined his job there as an adviser on the furniture trade with that of writer of comedy sketches for

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

performers such as Des Keogh and

Rosaleen Linehan Rosaleen Philomena Linehan (; born 1 June 1937) is an Irish stage, screen and television actress. Career Linehan was born in Dublin. She attended University College Dublin and graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Po ...

. In 1963, he resigned from his day job to become a full-time writer.

Theatre

Burrowes' first theatrical success was the musical ''Carrie'', which he co-wrote with Michael Coffey and James Douglas. It was premiered at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in September 1963 during the Sixth Annual

Dublin Theatre Festival The Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe's oldest specialised theatre festival. It was founded by theatre impresario Brendan Smith in 1957 and has, with the exception of two years, produced a season of international and Irish theatre each autumn. ...

. Regarded at the time as a lavish production, ''Carrie'' was directed by Peter Collinson, and starred

Milo O'Shea Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...

Ray McAnally Ray McAnally (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989) was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three BAFTA Awards in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for ''The Mission'' in 1986 and ''My Left Foot'' in 1989), and a ...

, and David Kelly. In 1969, Burrowes won the

Irish Life Irish Life Assurance plc, commonly known as Irish Life, is an Irish life assurance and pensions company. Irish Life has been part of the Great-West Lifeco group of companies since 2013, when the Irish Government sold the business. Prior to 201 ...

Drama Competition for his play, ''The Becauseway'', which the author described as belonging to "the tradition of the theatre of the absurd". A revised version of the play received its premiere at the Peacock Theatre four months later. He was successful in the 1970 Irish Life Competition, winning the top award for ''And All the People Rejoiced''. Under its new title, ''A Loud Bang on June the First'', the play received its first production at 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 February 1971. Due to his television commitments, only one other full-length Burrowes play reached the theatrical stage. This was ''Affluence'', a comedy first produced by the Irish Theatre Company in August 1980.

Television

In 1964, Burrowes' got his first break in television when he replaced Maura Laverty as script writer on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Television's drama series, ''

Tolka Row ''Tolka Row'' was an Irish Drama (film and television), drama serial set in a fictional housing estate on the Northside (Dublin), northside of Dublin. Based on Maura Laverty's play of the same name, ''Tolka Row'' was first broadcast on 3 January ...

''. Two years later he became editor and chief script writer for the station's long-running rural soap opera, ''

''. Between 1966 and 1979, when ''The Riordans'' ended its run, Burrowes wrote over 300 of the weekly scripts and edited most of those produced by the other writers. In 1983, Burrowes created another success for RTÉ in the form of the drama serial ''

''. He became one of three writers who contributed scripts during the series' eighteen-year run. Burrowes ensured his scripts were authentic by meeting farmers regularly in pubs and listening to their opinions and insights. ''Glenroe'' developed out of an earlier series which Burrowes conceived and wrote for RTÉ in 1980. This was ''

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

'', which featured

Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's s ...

in the lead role of Pat Barry.''The Irish Times'', "Last of the soap", 8 January 1998 Burrowes' contribution to television drama was recognised by the three

Jacob's Awards The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

he won in 1965, 1974, and 1976. The last two of these were specifically for his work on ''The Riordans''.

Film

In July 2000, the Wesley Burrowes-scripted film, ''Rat'' received its world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh. This was Burrowes first screenplay, a surrealist comedy set in working-class Dublin. His second film as scriptwriter, ''Mystics'', was released in 2003.

Other pursuits

Burrowes composed the lyrics of "

If I Could Choose The Irish National Final was held on 12 February 1967 by RTÉ TV in Dublin, Ireland. Before Eurovision National final The final was hosted by Brendan O'Reilly at the studios of RTÉ in Dublin. The winner was chosen by postcard voting. At Eu ...

", Ireland's entry in the

1967 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the 12th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Merci, Chérie" by Udo Jürgens. Organised by the European B ...

. The song came second in the contest. He was a skilled

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player who represented Ireland in the inaugural 1960

World Team Olympiad The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women ("Op ...

, tying for 16th among 29 entries.

Personal life

Burrowes married the actress, Liz Brennan in 1959; they divorced in 1967 having had a daughter, Ciara, together. He married his second wife, Helena Ruuth, in 1969 and they have a son, Kim. Burrowes lived in Bray,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

until his death on 31 December 2015, aged 85, following a long illness."A great talent' - tributes pour in for ''Glenroe'' writer Wesley Burrowes"
independent.ie; accessed 31 December 2015.

References

External links

Wesley Burrowes profile
IrishPlayography.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrowes, Wesley 1930 births 2015 deaths 20th-century writers from Northern Ireland 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Irish contract bridge players Jacob's Award winners People from Bangor, County Down RTÉ Television people Screenwriters from Northern Ireland Songwriters from Northern Ireland Male dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Television writers from Northern Ireland Male television writers