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The Arts Council Playography Na Gaeilge

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Joseph O'Connor

1963 -

Joseph O'Connor is one of Ireland's best-known writers. His hugely successful famine novel, Star of the Sea, the highest selling novel in the UK in 2004, won the Prix Littéraire Européan Madeleine Zepter for European Novel of the Year, as well as a number of other awards in France, Italy, Ireland and beyond. His other works of fiction include Cowboys and Indians (1991), Redemption Falls (2007) and Ghost Light (2011), based on the life of the actress Molly Allgood, and her relationship with John Millington Synge. His non-fiction works include Sweet Liberty: Travels in Irish America, The Irish Male at Home and Abroad, and The Secret World of the Irish Male. His play Red Roses and Petrol won the In Dublin Best New Irish Play award in 1995. He adapted Daphne du Maurier's novel My Cousin Rachel for the Gate Theatre in 2012 and was the writer and lyricist for Heartbeat of Home, a 2013 dance show from the producers of Riverdance. He lives in Dublin.

Playwriting Credits

Play Title Playwright
Dear Ireland I Una McKevitt Iseult Golden Edna O'Brien Blindboy Boatclub Sarah Hanly Aoife Martyn Arthur Riordan Emmet Kirwan John Connors Andrea Molino Rosaleen McDonagh Shane O'Reilly John O'Donovan (2) David Ireland Nancy Harris Deirdre Kinahan Jody O'Neill Owen McCafferty Frank McGuinness Zoe Ní Riordáin Felicia 'FELISPEAKS' Olusanya Karen Cogan Gina Moxley Jimmy Murphy Ursula Rani Sarma Zhu Yi Pom Boyd Stacey Gregg Thomas Kane Byrne Sinéad Burke Dermot Bolger Carys D. Coburn Meadhbh McHugh Colm Keegan (2) Phillip McMahon Darach Mac Con Iomaire Sonya Kelly Margaret Perry Joseph O'Connor (1) Kit de Waal Ciara Elizabeth Smyth Keith James Walker Abbie Spallen Michael West Shaun Dunne Carmel Winters Manchán Magan Mark O'Halloran Enda Walsh Eva O'Connor
Handel's Crossing Joseph O'Connor (1)
Mysteries 2000 Deirdre Purcell Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill Johnny Hanrahan Joseph O'Connor (1) Pat Kinevane Gavin Kostick Michael Scott (2) Mary Elizabeth Burke-Kennedy Declan Gorman Joe O'Byrne Derek Chapman Aidan Mathews Fergus Linehan (1) Brendan Kennelly Michael McCaffery
Red Roses and Petrol Joseph O'Connor (1)
Signatories Emma Donoghue Marina Carr Joseph O'Connor (1) Frank McGuinness Thomas Kilroy Éilís Ní Dhuibhne Hugo Hamilton Rachel Feehily
The Weeping of Angels Joseph O'Connor (1)
Tiny Plays for Ireland Gregory Rosenstock Michael Cussen Ronan Geoghegan Ciara Ní Chuirc Jesse Weaver Antonia Hart Darren Donohue Joseph O'Connor (1) Michael West Dermot Bolger Michelle Read Deirdre Kinahan Karl O'Neill Rory Nolan Ardal O'Hanlon Gerald Murphy Jody O'Neill Colin Murphy Sean McLoughlin Rosaleen McDonagh Niamh Creely Evan Lee D'Alton Rachel Feehily Mark Hennessy Adrienne Michel-Long
True Believers Joseph O'Connor (1)

Adaptations

Play Title Playwright
My Cousin Rachel Joseph O'Connor (1) Daphne Du Maurier