OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  William Boyle 

• Setting

  The Donnelly family home.

• Synopsis

  The play centres on the Donnelly family and the indolence of the sons of the house, Joe and Dominic. Their hard-working sister Maria realises that they are almost out of money and that they have no option but to sell the last remaining cow. The cow, however falls into a river and drowns, leaving the family facing ruin. Suddenly an uncle arrives unexpectedly from America; can he save them from penury?

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  5

• Female

  3

• Total

  8

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  28 March 1912

• Producer

  Produced by Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach

• Original Venue

  Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach
  

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.