A scene from "Juno and the Paycock"

Fiery son

Ireland marks O'Casey's birthday

March 30, 1998
Web posted at: 5:47 p.m. EDT (1747 GMT)

(CNN) -- There is nothing subtle about playwright Sean O'Casey's work. His portrait of an Irish family, "June and the Paycock," has been likened to a '20's version of Jerry Springer. O'Casey was born on March 30, 1880 in Dublin, Ireland.

The Irish dramatist had a gift for writing poignant and unflattering stories about his homeland. That, and writing about the Dublin slums during war and revolution, made him an important figure in the Irish literary renaissance.

SELECTED WORKS

"The Shadow of a Gunman" 1923 "Juno and the Paycock" 1924 "The Plough and the Stars" 1926 "Mirror in My House" 1956

It is also the reason that he would later move to England. His play about the 1916 rebellion in Dublin, "The Plough and the Stars," set off a riot at the Abbey Theatre.

While his earlier work is cynical and haunted by war-torn families, O'Casey's later plays are experimental.

His plays are still popular and are performed frequently worldwide. Alfred Hitchcock made a successful film version of "Juno and the Paycock" in 1930.

O'Casey died in Torquay, England on September 18, 1964.

Related stories:

• Site Seer: Irish Web Sites - March 14, 1998
• Violence erupts before N. Ireland talks resume - March 22, 1998
• CNN TravelGuide Destinations: Aran Island, Ireland - March 1998
• CNN TravelGuide Destinations: Reinventing the Emerald Isle - December 1996

Related sites:

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• British Film Institute: "The Plough and the Stars"
• Hitchcock's "Juno and the Paycock"
• American College Dublin: Ireland's Cultural Legacy

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