Saturday, October 03, 2015

Brian Friel, Irish playwright, dies aged 86

Brian Friel
Brian Friel in 2006 Credit: Getty Images

Playwright Brian Friel, described by former US president Bill Clinton “as an Irish treasure for the entire world”, has died at the age of  86. He wrote more than 30 plays and is best known for Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Faith Healer, Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa.

Friel, who was born in Omagh, was educated at St Columb’s College, Derry, the same school that Seamus Heaney attended. Frield later studied for a career in the priesthood, rejecting that in favour of following his father’s example and going into teaching. Frield worked at schools in and around Derry throughout the Fifties while harbouring a desire to write. He began with short stories, which were published in The New Yorker before his first two collections, The Saucer Of Larks and The Gold In The Sea.

His first stage success was in 1964 with Philadelphia, Here I Come! and his plays since then included The Freedom of the City (1973), Volunteers (1975), and Molly Sweeney (1994).

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