Seamus Finnegan (born 1949) is a Northern Irish playwright. He lives in London, and was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland on 1 March 1949. In 2010, Finnegan and American academic Carolyn Cummings-Osmond were married in London.

Early life

Born in

Northern Ireland, he is the son of Mary (née Magee) and Billy Finnegan, a bricklayer. He went to

St Mary's Grammar School St. Mary's Grammar School is a grammar school in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. History St. Mary's was founded in 1927 by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux. Ten girls were enrolled in the first year under the prin ...

where he was taught by the Irish Christian Brothers. At the outbreak of '

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

' in Northern Ireland, he became a member of the

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement The Northern Ireland civil rights movement dates to the early 1960s, when a number of initiatives emerged in Northern Ireland which challenged the inequality and discrimination against ethnic Irish Catholics that was perpetrated by the Ulster Pr ...

and the People's Democracy (a left wing student group led by amongst others, Bernadette McAliskey née Devlin). In 1971 he went to Manchester to read English, Drama and Education where he graduated and qualified as a teacher. He later moved to London where he taught at the

Jews' Free School JFS (formerly known as the Jews' Free School and later Jewish Free School) is a Jewish mixed comprehensive school in Kenton, North London, England, and was founded in 1732. Amongst its early supporters was the writer and philanthropist Char ...

from 1974 to 1978.

Career

Finnegan's first major play ''Act of Union'' was produced in 1980 at the

Soho Poly Theatre SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall (SoHo), and ha ...

with the support of

Bill Ash William Franklin Ash MBE (30 November 1917 – 26 April 2014) was an American-born British writer, broadcaster and Marxist, who served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. He was shot down, made a prisoner of w ...

and of which

Irving Wardle John Irving Wardle (20 July 1929 – 23 February 2023) was an English theatre critic and author. He wrote about theatre for ''The Observer'' from 1959 to 1963, for ''The Times'' from 1963 to 1989, and for ''The Independent on Sunday'' from 1989 ...

wrote in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'': "It may seem a negative compliment to this extremely informative and well-written piece, but its main achievements are to have developed a highly theatrical pattern from dislocated fragments, and to have exposed some of the tangled loyalties and hatreds of the divided country without the smallest trace of sectarian bias". ''Soldiers'', ''North'' and ''Mary's Men'' soon followed in the quartet of 'Troubles' plays. In 1982, at the invitation of

Kariel Gardosh Kariel Gardosh (; April 15, 1921 – February 28, 2000) was an Israeli cartoonist and illustrator known by his pen name Dosh (). He worked as a political cartoonist for the Israeli daily newspaper ''Ma'ariv'' and for the ''Jerusalem Post''. Gardos ...

, the Israeli Cultural Attaché in London, Finnegan's play ''James Joyce And The Israelites'' was performed at the First International Conference and Festival of Jewish Theater in Tel Aviv. "An evening of undivided enjoyment... a non-Jewish play on a Jewish subject done with much understanding and sympathy" (Jerusalem Post). In 1984, ''Tout'', a play about informers in Northern Ireland was commissioned by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

and performed at the

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

as part of the ''Thought Crimes At The Barbican'' season in memory of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

and his ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

''. 1986 saw the production of ''The War Trilogy'' which included ''The Spanish Play'', ''The German Connection'' and subsequently for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

''The Cemetery of Europe''. Of ''The German Connection'', which opened at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

, Andrew Rissik wrote in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'': 'Seamus Finnegan's The German Connection is an outstanding new play whose theme is tellingly summarised in the line, "Betrayal can make monsters of people... Finnegan's writing cuts through the potential melodrama with heart-breaking perception and skill... his dialogue has an urgent workaday vigour..." In the mid-nineties, Finnegan was writer in residence at

Mishkenot Sha’ananim Mishkenot Sha'ananim (, ''lit.'' Peaceful Dwellings) was the first Jewish settlement built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, on a hill directly across Mount Zion. It was built in 1859–1860. This guesthouse was one of the first ...

in Jerusalem, where he collaborated with Israeli dramatist Miriam Kainy on ''Hypatia'' and began work on his book about Israeli playwrights, ''Dialogues In Exile'', with the help and support of Dani Horovitz, another Israeli dramatist. Since 1998, Finnegan has worked closely with Scottish theatre director and artist, Ken McClymont on more than seven productions, most notably, ''Dead Faces Laugh'', ''Disapora Jigs'', ''Murder In Bridgport'' and ''Spinoza'' and with Madani Younis at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

in 2012 on ''The Star In The Cross'', a play set in the Budapest ghetto and Jerusalem in 1944. Finnegan's latest work with director Ken McClymont: ''After Paris'' at Rosemary Branch Theatre in 2016 and ''I Am Of Ireland'' at Old Red Lion Theatre in June 2018, of which Julia Pascal wrote in londongrip, 'an epic piece of theatre rooted in Irish identity, politics and history';'a vivid production in sympathy with poetry of writing'.

List of Plays

* Laws of God, Half Moon Theatre, 1978 * Act of Union, Soho Poly, 1980 * Herself Alone, Old Red Lion, 1981 * Soldiers, Old Red Lion, 1981 * James Joyce and the Israelites, Lyric Studio and First International Festival of Jewish Theatre, 1982 * Tout, Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican, 1984 * North, Cockpit Theatre, 1984 * Beyond a Joke, Cockpit Theatre and Queen Elizabeth Hall, 1984 * Marys Men, Drill Hall Theatre, 1984 * Gombeen, Air Gallery, 1985 * The Spanish Play, Place Theatre, 1986 * The German Connection, Young Vic, 1986 * The Murphy Girls, Drill Hall Theatre, 1988 * 1916, Institute of Contemporary Art, 1989 * Mary Maginn, Drill Hall Theatre, 1990 * Comrade Brennan, 7/84 Scotland, 1991 * It's All Blarney, 1992 * Hypatia, National Theatre Studio, 1994 * Dead Faces Laugh, Old Red Lion, 1998 * Life after Life, Old Red Lion, 2000 * Diaspora Jigs, Old Red Lion, 2001 * Murder in Bridgport, Old Red Lion, 2002 * Waiting for the Angels, Old Red Lion, 2002 * Landscapes after Exile, Lyric Studio, 2006 * The Beautiful Nun, RADA, 2008 * Fear, Misery and Laughter, Old Red Lion, 2010 * Spinoza, Old Red Lion, 2010 * The Star in the Cross, Bush Theatre, 2012 * After Paris, Rosemary Branch Theatre, 2016 * I Am Of Ireland, Old Red Lion, 2018 MRS BURNS'S BLACK RANGE and SHALOM, BELFAST...awaiting production 2024/5

Radio, TV and Film

* Doctors' Dilemmas, BBC2, 1983 * The Cemetery of Europe, BBC Radio 3, 1988 * Wild Grass, BBC Radio 4, 1990 * Shadows of Time, screenplay version of The German Connection, 1990 * Run like the Wind, film script commission, 1994

Books

* North, Marion Boyars, 1987 * The Cemetery of Europe, Marion Boyars, 1991 * James Joyce and the Israelites/Dialogues in Exile, Harwood Academic, 1995 * It's All Blarney, Harwood Academic, 1995 * Dead Faces Laugh, Harwood Academic, 1999 * After Paris, Wild Goat Press, 2017 * Two Jewish Plays, Wild Goat Press, 2017 * I Am Of Ireland, Wild Goat Press, 2018 * Diaspora Jigs, Wild Goat Press, 2019 * Bucksey and Yap, Wild Goat Press, 2019 * The Beautiful Nun, Wild Goat Press, 2020. * MURDER IN BRIDGPORT, Wild Goat Press, 2021 * MRS BURNS'S BLACK RANGE & MCGLINCHEY & FLANNAGAN, Amazon, 2023

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnegan, Seamus People educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast 1949 births Living people Male dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Male novelists from Northern Ireland