Colm Ó Clúbhán (1954 – March 1989), also known as Colm Clifford, was an Irish playwright, author, and

LGBT rights activist A list of notable LGBTQ social movements, LGBTQ rights activists who have worked to advance LGBTQ rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Albania * Xheni Karaj, founder of Aleanca LGBT org ...

Background

Ó Clúbhán was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1954. His mother was Sheila Marie Eady and his father was the poet and playwright

Sigerson Clifford Sigerson Clifford (1913 – 1 January 1985) was an Irish poet, playwright and civil servant. Clifford was born at 11 Dean St, Cork City, and was christened Edward Bernard Clifford. His parents, Michael Clifford and Mary Anne Sigerson, were f ...

, both from

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Ó Clúbhán is the Irish form of the name Clifford. Ó Clúbhán had four brothers and two sisters. He received his primary schooling at Presentation College in

Glasthule Glasthule ( ; ) is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is along County Dublin, County Dublin’s south coast, between Dún Laoghaire, Sandycove, Glenageary and Dalkey. Amenities Sandycove and Glasthule are served by a number ...

, moving to Marian College in

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely situated north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the ...

in 1968 where he spent the final four years of his secondary education. Ó Clúbhán emigrated to London in 1973. He later moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

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, for several years to teach English before returning to London in the mid-1980s where he remained until his death.

Career

Ó Clúbhán was a founding member of the London

agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...

'' Brixton Faeries'' gay theatre group based in

Railton Road Railton Road runs between Brixton and Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth. The road is designated the B223. At the northern end of Railton Road it becomes Atlantic Road, linking to Brixton Road at a junction where the Brixton tube stat ...

. His poems and plays focused on queer migrants, identity, and loneliness. He won the 1986 Hennessy Literary Award for ''Flood''. His first play, ''Friends of Rio Rita's'' took its title from the

LGBT slang LGBTQ slang, LGBTQ speak, queer slang, or LGBTQIA slang is a set of English slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBTQ people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBTQ communit ...

term

Friend of Dorothy A "friend of Dorothy" (FOD) is a code word (communication), code word for a gay man, first used in LGBTQ slang. Stating that, or asking if someone is a ''friend of Dorothy'', is a furtive way of suggesting sexual orientation while avoiding hostilit ...

and the

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

''Rio Rita'' in

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...

's play The Hostage who Ó Clúbhán described as “probably the only gay character I know of in Irish drama”. It was first performed at the

Oval House Theatre Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (locate ...

. Much of his work remains unpublished. His entire catalogue is held by his appointed next of kin and Literary Executors, Mary Evans Young & Derek Evans, with a small selection in the

Hall–Carpenter Archives The Hall–Carpenter Archives (HCA), founded in 1982, are the largest source for the study of gay activism in Britain, following the publication of the Wolfenden Report in 1957. The archives are named after the authors Radclyffe Hall, Marguer ...

. In recent years, his work is being re-examined: Professor Ed Madden of the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

has carried out detailed research on Ó Clúbhán's works and hosted a Boston College Ireland symposium on Ó Clúbhán in 2017.Irish Studies
bc.edu Friends of Rio Rita's was staged a
The Outhouse in Dublin in November 2017
There was a reading by th
Lewisham Irish LGBT Network
at the Lewisham Irish Community Centre in 2018 and a full production, directed by Stephen Gee at the same venue in October 2019.

Plays

* ''Friends of Rio Rita's'' - 1985 * ''Dermot Begley's Last Chance'' - 1985, radio * ''Reasons for Staying'' - 1986 * ''Beyond Kansas'' 1986 * ''Fair Game'' 1988 * ''Flesh and Blood in a Well-Fed-State'' 1988 * ''A Rip in the World'' 1988 * ''The Risk'' (undated) * ''The Body Beneath'' (undated) * ''Southern Comfort'' (undated)

Death

Ó Clúbhán died of AIDS-related illness at The London Lighthouse in March 1989, aged 34. There is a bench within the Walled Garden of Brockwell Park, Brixton, dedicated to his memory.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OClubhan, Colm 1954 births 1989 deaths Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish gay writers Irish LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish LGBTQ people Irish expatriates in England Gay dramatists and playwrights Writers from Dublin (city) AIDS-related deaths in Ireland