''The Freedom of the City'' is a 1973 play written by Irish playwright

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 ...

. The play is set in Derry,

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 ...

in 1970 during

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

, and follows three civil rights protestors who mistakenly find themselves in the

Mayor of Derry The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council is an honorary position bestowed upon a Citizen of Derry City & Strabane District in Northern Ireland, who is in practice a member of Derry and Strabane District Council, chosen by their peers ...

's parlour in the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

after attending a

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,

march. Their presence in the Guildhall is mistakenly interpreted as an

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, and the play depicts the protestor's final hours in the Guildhall, a failed escape attempt which leads to their killing at the hands of the British

security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several nations, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of military and paramilitary forces (su ...

and the resulting tribunal into their deaths. Friel had originally intended on writing a play set in Derry after moving to the city in 1968, and changed its contents after being present at the

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

massacre in January 1972.

Performance and publication

''The Freedom of the City'' was first performed 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 p ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

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 1973. In Australia, it remains a popular set text among

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, English Literature,

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

and

Theatre Studies Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychobiological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also e ...

secondary school students.

Plot

In Derry,

in 1970, the play interweaves the present (a tribunal into the deaths of three civil rights protestors at the hands of the British

and the reaction of the city's populace to the killings) and the

past The past is the set of all events that occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience ...

(the final hours of the three protestors who have mistakenly found themselves in the

's parlour in the

after attending a

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,

march). The protestors, who stumbled into the parlour after the march was targeted with

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

by the security forces, discuss their personal stories as they attempt to wait out the violence in order to go home. They are gradually revealed as Lily, a 43-year-old mother of eleven, Michael, a 22-year-old unemployed man, and "Skinner", a 21-year-old jobless man who signs himself as ' Freeman of the City' in the Guildhall's

guestbook A guestbook (also guest book, visitor log, visitors' book, visitors' album) is a paper or electronic means for a visitor to acknowledge a visit to a site, physical or web-based, and leave details such as their name, postal or electronic addres ...

. Their presence in the building is mistakenly interpreted as an

, and the three eventually attempt to escape from the Guildhall, but are shot and killed by three soldiers after surrendering. The tribunal concludes with the judge finding the soldiers innocent of any criminal charges,based on fictional eyewitness accounts which stated that Lily and Michael were armed.

First performance

''The Freedom of the City'' was first performed in Dublin at the Abbey Theatre on 20 February 1973. The Cast was as follows: : Ronnie Walsh as the Priest : Niall O'Brien,

Dermot Crowley Dermot Crowley (born 19 March 1947) is an Irish stage, film and television actor. Life and career Theatre Crowley's stage work has included a leading role in an Olivier Award winning production of Conor McPherson's ''The Weir'', which played ...

and Colm Meaney as the three Soldiers : John Kavanagh as the Judge : Geoffery Golden as the Police Constable : Pat Laffan as Dr. Dodds : Raymond Hardie as Michael : Angela Newman as Lily : Eamon Morrissey as Skinner : Michael O'hAonghusa as Balladeer : Clive Geraghty as Brigadier Johnson-Hansbury : Emmet Bargin as the Army Press Officer : Edward Golden as Dr Winbourne (Forensic Expert) : Derek Young as Professor Cuppley (Pathologist) : Bob Carlile as the RTÉ Commentator : Dinny O'Brien as the Accordionist

Context

* The events entail links to the events of Bloody Sunday, and

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

. * Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by many

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, including

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 ...

ones, to esteemed members or organisations of the community for heroic community service (among other possible reasons); the term applies to two separate honours, one civilian and one military. Friel adopts a

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, pho ...

to presumably represent the characters of the play and the protesters who took part in the Bloody Sunday march. It is a semi-inherited honour which the descendants of former Freemen of the City can receive. During the 17th and 18th century in Derry, the Freemen were part of the ruling body of the city council. Skinner signs himself in as "Freeman of the City" and with a surname of Fitzgerald. In the report of the funeral procession his coffin is carried by the (Roman Catholic order) the Knights of Malta.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom of the City, The 1973 plays The Troubles in Derry (city) Plays by Brian Friel Works about The Troubles (Northern Ireland)