OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  J. Bernard MacCarthy 

• Setting

  Stephen Moran's parlour and a room in the National Hotel; the present.

• Synopsis

  A young priest, Tom Moran, returns to the town where his parents live and embarks on an anti-drink crusade.His parents, however, have entered the liquor trade and this is now their sole source of income. They plead with him to stop his crusade for fear that they will lose their livelihood. Fr Moran relents when he learns that his brother, who has been caught embezzling money, will be jailed unless their parents manage to save up enough money through their beer-selling enterprise to pay off his debts. The priest gives up his mission in order to allow the honour of the family to be restored.

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  11

• Female

  2

• Total

  13

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  22 January 1917

• Producer

  Produced by Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach

• Original Venue

  Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach
  

• Irish Premiere Notes

  Presented in a programme with Hyacinth Halvey by Lady Gregory.

Source Of Information

The information for this entry was taken from the original production programme and Ireland's Abbey Theatre: A History 1899-1951 by Lennox Robinson, with additional information from press cuttings of the time.