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Seán O'Casey ( ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the
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 ...
working classes.


Early life

O'Casey was born at 85 Upper Dorset Street,
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 ...
, as John Casey, the son of Michael Casey, a mercantile clerk (who worked for the Irish Church Missions), and Susan Archer. His parents were Protestants and he was a member of the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
, baptised on 28 July 1880 in St. Mary's parish, confirmed at St John the Baptist Church in Clontarf, and an active member of St. Barnabas' Church on Sheriff Street until his mid-20s, when he drifted away from the church. There is a church called 'Saint Burnupus' in his play '' Red Roses For Me''. O'Casey's father died when Seán was just six years of age, leaving a family of thirteen. The family lived a peripatetic life thereafter, moving from house to house around north Dublin. As a child, he suffered from poor eyesight, which interfered somewhat with his early education, but O'Casey taught himself to read and write by the age of thirteen. He left school at fourteen and worked at a variety of jobs, including a nine-year period as a railwayman on the GNR. O'Casey worked in Eason's for a short while, in the newspaper distribution business, but was sacked for not taking off his cap when collecting his wage packet. From the early 1890s, O'Casey and his elder brother, Archie, put on performances of plays by
Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...
and
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
in the family home. He also got a small part in Boucicault's ''The Shaughraun'' in the Mechanics' Theatre, which stood on the site of what was to be the Abbey Theatre.


Politics

As his interest in the
Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
cause grew, O'Casey joined the Gaelic League in 1906 and learned the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
. At this time, he Gaelicised his name from John Casey to Seán Ó Cathasaigh. He also learned to play the Uilleann pipes and was a founder and secretary of the St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band. He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and became involved in the
Irish Transport and General Workers Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin and James Fearon (trade unionist), James Fearon in January 1909 ...
, which had been established by Jim Larkin to represent the interests of the unskilled labourers who inhabited the Dublin tenements. He participated in the Dublin lock-out but was blacklisted and could not find steady work for some time. In March 1914, he became General Secretary of Larkin's Irish Citizen Army, which would soon be run by
James Connolly James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...
. On 24 July 1914 he resigned from the ICA, after his proposal to ban dual membership in both the ICA and the Irish Volunteers was rejected. One of his first satirical ballads, "The Grand Oul' Dame Britannia", was published in ''The Workers' Republic'' on 15 January 1916 under his penname An Gall Fada.


After the Easter Rising

In 1917, his friend Thomas Ashe died in a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
and it inspired him to write. He wrote two laments: one in verse and a longer one in prose. Ballads authored around this time by O'Casey featured in the two editions of ''Songs of the Wren'', published by Fergus O'Connor in 1918; these included "The Man from the Daily Mail", which, along with "The Grand Oul' Dame Britannia", became Irish rebel music staples. A common theme was opposition to the possible introduction of
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
in Ireland by the British government during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He spent the next five years writing plays. In 1918, when both his sister and mother died (in January and September, respectively), the St Laurence O'Toole National Club commissioned him to write the play ''The Frost in the Flower''. He had been in the St Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band and played on the
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
team. The club declined to put the play on out of fear that its satirical treatment of several parishioners would cause resentment. O'Casey then submitted the play to the Abbey Theatre, which also rejected it but encouraged him to continue writing. Eventually, O'Casey expanded the play to three acts and retitled it ''The Harvest Festival''.


Abbey Theatre

O'Casey's first accepted play, '' The Shadow of a Gunman'', was performed at the Abbey Theatre in 1923. This was the beginning of a relationship that was to be fruitful for both theatre and dramatist but which ended in some bitterness. The play deals with the impact of revolutionary politics on Dublin's slums and their inhabitants, and is understood to be set in Mountjoy Square, where he lived during the 1916
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
. It was followed by '' Juno and the Paycock'' (1924) and '' The Plough and the Stars'' (1926). The former deals with the effect of the
Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
on the working class poor of the city, while the latter is set in Dublin in 1916 around the
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
. Both plays deal realistically with the rhetoric and dangers of Irish patriotism, with tenement life, self-deception, and survival; they are tragi-comedies in which violent death throws into relief the blustering masculine bravado of characters such as Jack Boyle and Joxer Daly in ''Juno and the Paycock'' and the heroic resilience of Juno herself or of Bessie Burgess in ''The Plough and the Stars''. ''Juno and the Paycock'' became a film directed by
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
. ''The Plough and the Stars'' was not well received by the Abbey audience and resulted in scenes reminiscent of the riots that greeted J. M. Synge's '' The Playboy of the Western World'' in 1907. There was a riot reported on the fourth night of the show. His depiction of sex and religion offended even some of the actors, who refused to speak their lines. The full-scale riot occurred partly because the play was thought to be an attack on the men in the rising and partly in protest in opposition to the animated appearance of a prostitute in Act 2. W. B. Yeats got onto the stage and roared at the audience: "You have disgraced yourselves again." The takings of the play were substantial compared with the previous week. O'Casey gave up his job and became a full-time writer. After the incident, even though the play was well liked by most of the Abbey goers,
Liam O'Flaherty Liam O'Flaherty ( ; 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer, and one of the foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century, writing about the common people's experience and from their ...
, Austin Clarke and F. R. Higgins launched an attack against it in the press. O'Casey believed it was an attack on Yeats, that they were using O'Casey's play to berate Yeats. In 1952 he appeared in a play by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy, ''The Wild Goose'', in which he played the part of Father Ryan. O'Casey was involved in numerous productions with the Abbey; these can be found in the Abbey Archives.


England

While in London to receive the Hawthornden Prize and supervise the West End production of ''Juno and the Paycock'', O'Casey fell in love with Eileen Carey. The couple were married in 1927 and remained in London until 1938, when they moved to Totnes. In 1928, W. B. Yeats rejected O'Casey's fourth play, '' The Silver Tassie'' for the Abbey. It was an attack on imperialist wars and the suffering they cause. The Abbey refused to perform it. The premier production was funded by Charles B. Cochran, who took only eighteen months to put it on stage. It was put on at the Apollo Theatre but lasted for only twenty-six performances. It was directed by Raymond Massey, starred Charles Laughton and with an Act II set design by Augustus John.
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
and Lady Gregory had a favourable opinion of the show. Denis Johnston, who knew O'Casey and spent time with him in London in the 1920s, is certain that the Abbey was right not to stage ''The Silver Tassie'': "Its expressionist second act was at that time far beyond the scope of the Abbey Theatre." A year later Johnston's own ''The Old Lady Says "No!"'' was similarly rejected, for the same reason. Nevertheless O'Casey's resentment over this persisted for many years. The plays O'Casey wrote after this included the darkly allegorical ''Within the Gates'' (1934), which is set within the gates of a busy city park based on London's Hyde Park. Although it was highly controversial,
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...
responded positively to it. The play was originally going to be a film script for
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
. O'Casey's widow described it in her memoir, ''Sean'' (1971):
Originally he had imagined it as a film in which everything, from flower-beds to uniforms, would be stylised. Beginning at dawn and ending at midnight, to the soft chime of Big Ben in the distance, it would be "geometrical and emotional, the emotions of the living characters to be shown against their own patterns and the patterns of the Park." Having got so far, he wrote to Alfred Hitchcock, and when Hitchcock and his wife dined with us Sean explained his ideas to an apparently responsive hearer. Hitchcock and he talked excitedly. They parted on the same terms, with the prospect of another immediate meeting, and Sean never heard again.
The play was unsuccessful in Northern Ireland and was not produced in the south until 2010. In the autumn of 1934, O'Casey went to the United States to visit the New York City production of ''Within the Gates'', which he admired greatly. It was directed by actor Melvyn Douglas and starred
Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "F ...
. This is when he befriended
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...
, Sherwood Anderson and
George Jean Nathan George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American drama critic and magazine editor. He worked closely as an editor with H. L. Mencken bringing the literary magazine ''The Smart Set'' to prominence and while co-founding ...
. ''The Star Turns Red'' (1940) is a four-act political allegory in which the Star of Bethlehem turns red. The story follows Big Red (who was based on O'Casey's friend, James Larkin) who is a trade-union leader. The union takes over the unnamed country despite the ruthless efforts of the Saffron Shirts, a fascist organisation openly supported by the Roman Catholic hierarchy of the country. It was staged by the Unity Theatre in London during 1940 (later, in 1978 by the Abbey in Dublin). ''Purple Dust'' (1943) follows two wealthy, materialistic English stockbrokers who buy an ancient Irish mansion and attempt to restore it with their wrong notions of Tudor customs and taste. They try to impose upon a community with vastly different customs and lifestyles that are much closer to ancient Gaelic ways and are against such false values. The Englishmen set their opposing standards against those represented by the men employed to renovate the house. In the resulting confrontation the English are satirised and in the end disappointed when a symbolic storm destroys their dream of resettling the old into the present. The hint that is enforced by the conclusion is that the little heap of purple dust that remains will be swept away by the rising winds of change, like the residue of pompous imperialism that abides in Ireland. The show has been compared to Shaw's '' John Bull's Other Island'', which was one of O'Casey's favourites, but aside from a few similarities, there are no real grounds for comparison. He also wrote '' Red Roses for Me'' (1943), which saw him move away from his early style in favour of more expressionistic means and overtly socialist content to his writing. It went up at Dublin's Olympia Theatre (which was the first one produced in Ireland in seventeen years). It would move on to London in 1946, where O'Casey himself was able to see it. This was the first show of his own he saw since ''Within The Gates'' in 1934. ''Oak Leaves and Lavender'' (1945) is a propaganda play commemorating the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
and Britain's heroism in the anti-Nazi crusade. It takes place in a manor with shadowy 18th-century figures commenting on the present. These plays have never had the same critical or popular success as the early trilogy. After the Second World War he wrote '' Cock-a-Doodle Dandy'' (1949), which is perhaps his most beautiful and exciting work. From ''The Bishop's Bonfire'' (1955) O'Casey's late plays are studies on the common life in Ireland, "Irish microcosmos", like ''The Drums of Father Ned'' (1958). His play ''The Drums of Father Ned'' was supposed to go up at the 1958 Dublin Theatre Festival, but the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, refused to give his blessing (it has been assumed because works of both
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
and O'Casey were in the festival). After Joyce's play was quietly dropped, massive changes were required for ''The Drums of Father Ned'', a devious way to get O'Casey to drop. After this,
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
withdrew his
mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...
piece in protest.


Later life

In 1959, O'Casey gave his blessing to a musical adaptation of ''Juno and the Paycock'' by American composer Marc Blitzstein. The musical, retitled '' Juno'', was a commercial failure, closing after only 16 Broadway performances. It was also panned by some critics as being too "dark" to be an appropriate musical, a genre then almost invariably associated with light comedy. However, the music, which survives in a cast album made before the show opened, has since been regarded as some of Blitzstein's best work. Although endorsed by the then 79-year-old O'Casey, he did not contribute to the production or even see it during its brief run. Despite general agreement on the brilliance of the underlying material, the musical has defied all efforts to mount any successful revival. Also in 1959, George Devine produced '' Cock-a-Doodle Dandy'' at the
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
and it was also successful at the Edinburgh International Festival and had a West End run. His eightieth birthday occurred in 1960, and to celebrate, David Krause and Robert Hogan wrote full-length studies. The Mermaid Theatre in London launched the "O'Casey Festival" in 1962, which in turn made more theatre establishments put on his works, mostly in Britain and Germany. It is in the late years that O'Casey put his creative energy into his six-volume ''Autobiography.'' On 18 September 1964 at the age of 84, O'Casey died of a heart attack, in Torquay,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. He was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium. In 1965, his autobiography ''Mirror in My House'' (the umbrella title under which the six autobiographies he published from 1939 to 1956 were republished, in two large volumes, in 1956) was turned into a film based on his life called '' Young Cassidy''. The film was directed by Jack Cardiff (and
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
) featuring Rod Taylor (as O'Casey), Flora Robson,
Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seve ...
, Julie Christie, Edith Evans and Michael Redgrave.


Personal life

O'Casey was married to Irish actress Eileen Carey Reynolds (1903–1995) from 1927 to his death. The couple had three children: two sons, Breon and Níall (who died in 1957 of
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
), and a daughter, Shivaun.


Archival collection

In 2005, David H. Greene donated a collection of letters he received from O'Casey from 1944 to 1962 to the Fales Library at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. Also in the collection are two letters written by Eileen O'Casey and one letter addressed to Catherine Greene, David Greene's spouse. O'Casey's papers are held in the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
, the
Cornell University Library The Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. As of 2014, it holds over eight million printed volumes and over a million ebooks. More than 90 percent of its current 120,000 Periodical literature, periodical ti ...
, the University of California, Los Angeles Library System, the University of London Library, the National Library of Ireland, Colby College,
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
and the Fales Library.


Legacy

In Dublin, a foot bridge on the Liffey is named after him, as is Sean O'Casey Avenue in Summerhill and 'Sean O'Casey Community Centre' in East Wall. There is a plaque dedicated to O'Casey at the site of his former house on Dorset Street, Dublin and also at the building where he stayed in a flat in
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in England.


Works

* ''Lament for Thomas Ashe'' (1917), as Seán Ó Cathasaigh * ''The Story of Thomas Ashe'' (1917), as Seán Ó Cathasaigh * ''Songs of the Wren'' (1918), as Seán Ó Cathasaigh * ''More Wren Songs'' (1918), as Seán Ó Cathasaigh * ''The Harvest Festival'' (1918) * ''The Story of the Irish Citizen Army'' (1919), as Seán Ó Cathasaigh * '' The Shadow of a Gunman'' (1923) * ''Kathleen Listens In'' (1923) * '' Juno and the Paycock'' (1924) * ''Nannie's Night Out'' (1924) * '' The Plough and the Stars'' (1926) * '' The Silver Tassie'' (1927) * ''Within the Gates'' (1934) * '' The End of the Beginning'' (1937) * ''A Pound on Demand'' (1939) * ''The Star Turns Red'' (1940) * '' Red Roses for Me'' (1942) * ''Purple Dust'' (1940/1945) * ''Oak Leaves and Lavender'' (1946) * '' Cock-a-Doodle Dandy'' (1949) * ''Hall of Healing'' (1951) * ''Bedtime Story'' (1951) * ''Time to Go'' (1951) * ''The Wild Goose'' (1952) * ''The Bishop's Bonfire: A Sad Play within the Tune of a Polka'' (1955) * ''Mirror in My House'' (two volumes, 1956, reissued as ''Autobiographies'', 1963 and since; combining the six books of memoirs listed next) ** ''I Knock at the Door'' (1939) ** ''Pictures in the Hallway'' (1942) ** ''Drums Under the Window'' (1945) ** ''Inishfallen, Fare Thee Well'' (1949) ** ''Rose and Crown'' (1952) ** ''Sunset and Evening Star'' (1954) * ''The Drums of Father Ned'' (written 1957, staged 1959) * ''Behind the Green Curtains'' (1961) * ''Figuro in the Night'' (1961) * ''The Moon Shines on Kylenamoe'' (1961) * ''Niall: A Lament'' (1991)


Awards and recognition

* (1926) – Hawthornden Prize for ''Juno and the Paycock'' * (1949) – Newspaper Guild of New York's "Page One Award" for ''I Knock at the Door'', ''Pictures in the Hallway'', ''Drums under the Windows'', and ''Inishfallen, Fare Thee Well'' *
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(declined) * (1960) –
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
Honorary Degree (declined) * (1960) –
University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...
Honorary Degree (declined) * (1961) –
Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...
Honorary Degree (declined)


References


Further reading

*''Irish Writers on Writing'' featuring Seán O'Casey. Edited by Eavan Boland ( Trinity University Press, 2007). *Igoe, Vivien. ''A Literary Guide to Dublin''. Methuen, 1994; * Denis Johnston. "Sean O'Casey in the Twenties". In O hAodha, Micheal (ed). ''The O'Casey Enigma''. Dublin: Mercier Press, 1980 *Krause, David. ''Seán O'Casey and his World''. New York: C. Scribner's, 1976; *Murray, Christopher. ''Seán O'Casey, Writer at Work''. Gill and MacMillan, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004; *Ryan, Philip B. ''The Lost Theatres of Dublin''. The Badger Press, 1998; *Schrank, Bernice. ''Sean O'Casey: A Research and Production Sourcebook''. Greenwood Press, 1996;


External links

* *
Link to the Fales library guide to the David H. Greene Collection of Sean O'Casey Letters

Sean O'Casey Collection
at the Harry Ransom Center
Seán O'Casey and the 1916 Easter RisingO'Casey at Today in LiteratureRobert G. Lowery – Sean O'Casey Collection
– at Boston College John J. Burns Library
Sean O'Casey letters, 1946–1969
– at Boston College John J. Burns Library
Bibliography


threemonkeysonline.com * *
'Ireland's Shakespeare': three actors on Seán O'Casey
* Seán O'Casey at Th
Teresa Deevy Archive
* Seán O'Casey at Th
Abbey Theatre Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocasey, Sean 1880 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish memoirists Abbey Theatre Anglican socialists Christian communists European democratic socialists Golders Green Crematorium Irish Anglicans Irish Christian socialists Irish Citizen Army members Irish communists Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Irish male dramatists and playwrights Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Politics of Dublin (city) Writers from Dublin (city) People on Irish postage stamps