James Plunkett Kelly, or James Plunkett (21 May 1920 – 28 May 2003), was an Irish writer. He was educated at Synge Street CBS. Kelly grew up among the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

working class and they, along with the

petty bourgeoisie ''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological ...

and lower

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

, make up the bulk of the dramatis personae of his oeuvre. His best-known works are the novel ''

Strumpet City ''Strumpet City'' is a 1969 historical novel by James Plunkett set in Dublin, Ireland, around the time of the 1913 Dublin Lock-out. In 1980, it was adapted into a successful TV drama by Hugh Leonard for RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster. ...

'', set in Dublin in the years leading up to the lockout of 1913 and during the course of the strike, and the short stories in the collection ''The Trusting and the Maimed''. His other works include a radio play on James Larkin, who figures prominently in his work. During the 1960s, Plunkett worked as a producer at Telefís Éireann. He won two

Jacob's Awards The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

, in 1965 and 1969, for his TV productions. In 1971 he wrote and presented "Inis Fail - Isle of Destiny", his very personal appreciation of Ireland. It was the final episode of the BBC series "Bird's-Eye View", shot entirely from a helicopter, and the first co-production between the BBC and RTE. He was a member of Aosdana. A first year class, "1 Plunkett" at Synge Street CBS, is named in honour of James Plunkett.

Works

Radio plays

* ''Dublin Fusilier'' (March 1952), * ''Mercy'' (June 1953), * ''Homecoming'' (April 1954), * ''Big Jim'' (1955), * ''Farewell Harper'' (1956).

Novels

* ''

'' (1969) * ''Farewell Companions'' (1977) * ''The Circus Animals'' (1990)

Places

* The Gems She Wore (1972)

Short Story Collections

* ''The Trusting and the Maimed'' (1955) * ''Collected Short Stories'' ''janey Mary''

External links

Obituary: James Plunkett

Irish writers online – James Plunkett

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plunkett, James 1920 births 2003 deaths Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish male short story writers Writers from Dublin (city) Jacob's Award winners Aosdána members Irish male novelists 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish short story writers People educated at Synge Street CBS