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Patrick Galvin

PATRICK GALVIN

  (1927 - 2011)

Nationality:    Irish
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Patrick Galvin's creative output spans nearly sixty years. Best known as a writer of poetry and prose, his work includes eight volumes of poetry, eight stage plays, seven radio plays, and two screenplays. Three volumes of his memoirs were also published, the most famous of which "Song for a Raggy Boy" was adapted into a major motion picture staring aidan Quinn. Galvin left his birthplace of Cork's inner city in his early teens. His early travels took him to Africa, the Middle east and england and he later travelled as a folksinger and songwriter to America and across Europe. In the early 50's he recorded 7 albums of folk songs in the US and was championed by the late great Seamus ennis at the BBC. His well known composition "Where O where is James Connolly" has been recorded by Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Mary Black, Frank Harte, and Liam Weldon. He firmly established himself as an exciting Dramatist in the 1970's while resident at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. During this time, Nightfall to Belfast, We Do It For Love and the Last Burning, were triumphant. We Do It for Love (the first satire about "the Troubles") was the most groundbreaking and exceeded all box office records for an Irish play at the Lyric. Directed by Galvin, this musical satire featured a young Liam Neeson and has been noted to suggest that "the resolution of the northern conflict may begin amongst the ordinary working people". all three plays were later staged in Dublin and featured across the globe including Dublin, London, New York, Australia, Canada, and Germany. Galvin's plays were ahead of their time and his outlandish humour and demonstrations of violence and anger inspired much controversy. His early plays Cry the Believers and and Him Stretched were staged in Dublin in the 60s and were closely monitored by the former archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid. Reports from McQuaid's investigators found that Cry the Believers "with its unending carping about the Church and the clergy" was not one "to which young, impressionable minds could be exposed without risk to faith". However this was minor controversy compared to the uproar caused when a 300 pound live bomb was delivered to the door of the Lyric during the premier production of Nightfall to Belfast in September 1973 or the street protests by paramilitaries inspired by We Do It For Love in 75. In 1981, My Silver Bird, based on the life and Times of Grace O'Malley, with a musical score by Peadar O Riada was prevented from touring to the Cork Opera House by the Northern Ireland Office. Controversies such as these may explain why Galvin's plays have featured infrequently since the late 1980's with the notable exception being the Cage which had its premier at the Cork Arts Theatre in November 2006. a member of aosdana, some of Galvin's many accolades include: a Leverhume Fellowship - awarded in 1973 in association with the Lyric Theatre; the O Shaughnessy prize for poetry - awarded in 1996 by Irish American Cultural Institute and a Doctorate of Literature awarded by the National University of Ireland/ UCC in 2006.

Research:    http://www.irishplayography.com/person.aspx?personid=3001

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below is a list of Patrick Galvin's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

        And Him Stretched         Cry the Believers         Devil's Own People, The         Last Burning, The         My Silver Bird: Our Flags Will Bloom Like Flowers         Nightfall To Belfast         We Do It For Love



And Him Stretched

Synopsis:
Satire on post-treaty Ireland.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Unity Theatre, London    Jan 1962

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cry the Believers

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
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Devil's Own People, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Gaiety Theatre, Dublin    27 Sep 1976

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  14            Female:  10            Other:  doubling possible

Further Reference:
-

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Last Burning, The

Synopsis:
suspicions of witchcraft lead to tragic results

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
in Three Plays by Patrick Galvin, Lyric theatre, Belfast, 1976   B0006CRKe6

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  11            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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My Silver Bird: Our Flags Will Bloom Like Flowers

Synopsis:
Some of the adventures in the colourful life of the historical figure Grace O'Malley or Granuaile: her politically expedient marriage; her courtship of Queen Elizabeth I's deputy; her imprisonment in Dublin Castle for treason, murder and piracy; and her meeting with the english queen.

Notes:
devised by Mary O'Malley; play And lyrics by Patrick Galvin

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lyric Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical theatre an entertainment

Parts:
Male:  24            Female:  7            Other:  doubling possible

Further Reference:
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Nightfall To Belfast

Synopsis:
a deeply divided Belfast family and their acquantances surrounded by the City's violence.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lyric Theatre

1st Published:
in Three Plays by Patrick Galvin, Lyric theatre, Belfast, 1976   B0006CRKe6

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  13            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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We Do It For Love

Synopsis:
a kaleidoscopic sequence of comic scenes from Belfast in the early days of the Troubles, centring on Moses Docker, who runs a merry-go-round in the city centre.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lyric Theatre

1st Published:
in Three Plays by Patrick Galvin, Lyric theatre, Belfast, 1976   B0006CRKe6

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Belfast play with songs and music

Parts:
Male:  18            Female:  11            Other:  doubling possible

Further Reference:
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