William Boyle (25 April 1853 – 6 March 1923) was an

Irish 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 ...

dramatist and short story writer. His work revolved around the life of the farm people of

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Boyle was born in the village of

Dromiskin Dromiskin (historically ''Druminisklin'', from ) is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is situated 10 km south of Dundalk, about 1 km inland from the Irish coast. History The village was home to a monastery for h ...

and educated at St Mary's College in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. He began his career as a teacher but entered the civil service, working in the customs and excise department, and spent his working life in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. Boyle was a friend of two leading Irish nationalists,

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

and

John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as lead ...

. Boyle became a member of the

Irish Literary Society The Irish Literary Society was founded in London in 1892 by William Butler Yeats, T. W. Rolleston ,and Charles Gavan Duffy. Members of the Southwark Irish Literary Club met in Clapham Reform Club and changed the name early in the year. On 13 Febru ...

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 ...

. He first made a literary name with stories and comic verse for light journals and newspapers. A collection of his short stories, ''A Kish of Brogues'', appeared in 1899. According to Irish literary scholar

Norman Jeffares Alexander Norman "Derry" Jeffares AM (/ˈdʒɛfəz/, 11 August 1920 – 1 June 2005) was an Irish literary scholar. Early life and education Jeffares was born in Dublin, educated at Dublin High School, Trinity College Dublin (where he was elec ...

, it showed "his capacity to create character very convincingly." Becoming a playwright, Boyle wrote five comedies for 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 ...

about the peasant people of Louth. The first three were very successful, according to Robert Hogan, another scholar of Irish literature; they were revived many times in the Abbey. Norman Jeffares also described Boyle as one of the most popular of the Abbey's early dramatists. Jeffares regarded Boyle's best play as ''The Building Fund'' (produced in 1905), "an effective study of avarice." Jeffares added that Boyle treated political trickery in a farcical way in ''The Eloquent Dempsey'', which was produced in 1906, as was ''The Mineral Workers''. The latter got "good dramatic results from placing a returned Irish-American engineer full of modern ideas...up against the locals' resentment of change." In 1907, at the time of the

Playboy Riots ''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...

, Boyle withdrew his plays from the Abbey, but was encouraged to return by

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

. ''Family Failing'' (produced in 1912) and ''Nic'' (produced in 1916) were less successful -- they "lacked the sharpness and energy of his former work." A more extensive contemporary critique of Boyle's first four plays may be found in ''Irish Plays and Playwrights'' (1913) by Cornelius Weygandt. The catalogue of the National Library of Ireland shows that Boyle wrote a one-act comedy called ''Tongue-Tied'', perhaps around 1920. It also contains a letter from Boyle dated January 1921, in which he declined an invitation to lecture before the National Literary Society because of the state of his health. Boyle died a little over two years later in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Select works

*''A Kish of Brogues'' (1899) - short story collection *''Comic Capers, Pictures by H. B. Neilson, Verses by William Boyle'' (1903, illustrated by

Harry B. Neilson Henry Bingham Neilson (1861 – 13 October 1941), who signed his work and was usually credited as Harry B. Neilson, less often as H. B. Neilson, was a British illustrator, mostly of children’s books. His first career was as an engineer and el ...

) * ''Christmas at the Zoo: Described in Verse by William Boyle, with Coloured Illustrations by H. B. Neilson'' (1904, illustrated by Harry B. Neilson) * ''The Building Fund'', 1905 * ''The Eloquent Dempsey'', 1906 * ''The Mineral Workers'', 1906 * ''Family Failing'', 1912 * ''Nic'', 1916.

References

1853 births 1923 deaths Abbey Theatre Irish male dramatists and playwrights Writers from County Louth 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male writers {{Ireland-writer-stub