Thomas Kilroy's long and distinguished career is celebrated in this volume by new essays, panel discussions and an interview, reconsidering the work of one of Ireland's most intellectually ambitious and technically imaginative playwrights. Contributors are drawn from both the academic and theatrical spheres, and include Nicholas Grene, Wayne Jordan, Patrick Mason, Christopher Murray and Lynne Parker. This volume follows Kilroy's own practice of connecting the creative and the critical, and publishes for the first time an extract from his play 'Blake'. Illustrated with photographs from major productions, this book also reproduces previously unseen materials from the Thomas Kilroy Collection held in the James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway.

CONTENTS: Nicholas Grene: The Modernity of Thomas Kilroy - Anthony Roche: Thomas Kilroy – Irish Modernist: a response to Nicholas Grene - Thomas Kilroy: The Intellectual on Stage - Peter Fallon: Publishing Plays and the Plays of Thomas Kilroy - Thomas Kilroy: An Extract from the Play «Blake» - Panel Discussion 1: Reading Kilroy - Panel Discussion 2: Directing Kilroy - Thomas Kilroy in Conversation with Adrian Frazier - Gerard Fanning: Poem: «Tom Kilroy’s Big Country».