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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