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Seán O'Casey

ショーン・オーケイシー

Shōn O'Kēshī

Aliases: John Casey
Pen Names: Seán Ó Cathasaigh（Pen name used in early political activities and writings）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1880-03-30 （Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland）
Died
1964-09-18 （Torquay, Devon, England） age 84
Nationality
Irish
Languages
English, Irish
Religion
Church of Ireland Baptized in 1880 （Baptismal Name: John Casey）
Residence History
North Dublin → London → Totnes

Career

Occupations
dramatist, memoirist
Active Years
1923-1964
Affiliations
Abbey Theatre
Memberships
Gaelic League, Irish Citizen Army, Socialist Party of Ireland
Influenced By
James Connolly, Jim Larkin
Influenced
Later Irish playwrights

Awards

Hawthornden Prize
1926
Work: Juno and the Paycock
Result: 受賞
Page One Award
1949
Work: Autobiographies (I Knock at the Door, etc.)
Organization: Newspaper Guild of New York
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Shadow of a Gunman

1923 Tragi-comedy

Deals with the impact of revolutionary politics on Dublin's slums and inhabitants.

working classesIrish revolutionself-deception

Juno and the Paycock

1924 Tragi-comedy

Portrays the effect of the Irish Civil War on the working class poor of Dublin.

povertypatriotismsurvival
Adaptations
  • [Film] Juno and the Paycock / Alfred Hitchcock (1930)

The Plough and the Stars

1926 Tragi-comedy

Set in Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising, focusing on tenement life.

dangers of patriotismreligionviolence

Bibliography

  • Lament for Thomas Ashe
  • The Story of Thomas Ashe
  • Songs of the Wren
  • More Wren Songs
  • The Harvest Festival
  • The Story of the Irish Citizen Army
  • The Shadow of a Gunman
  • Kathleen Listens In
  • Juno and the Paycock
  • Nannie's Night Out
  • The Plough and the Stars
  • The Silver Tassie
  • Within the Gates
  • The End of the Beginning
  • A Pound on Demand
  • The Star Turns Red
  • Red Roses for Me
  • Purple Dust
  • Oak Leaves and Lavender
  • Cock-a-Doodle Dandy

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realismexpressionistic elementssatire
Recurring Motifs
Dublin tenement lifesocialismanti-imperialism

Health

  • poor eyesight
    幼少期
    Interfered with early education but self-taught to read and write by age 13

Legacy

First Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes; committed socialist.

Archives

  • National Library of Ireland
  • New York Public Library
  • Cornell University Library

In Popular Culture

  • Seán O'Casey Bridge and Avenue in Dublin
  • Plaque at childhood home in Dorset Street, Dublin

Quotes

  • I am still a Republican, a Communist, and, in a way, a member of the Gaelic League.
    Source: Letters of Sean O'Casey: 1955-58 (1958)

Trivia

  • The Plough and the Stars caused a riot at the Abbey Theatre.
  • Father died when he was 6, leaving a family of 13.
  • Joined Irish independence movements but did not participate in Easter Rising.