Thomas Cornelius Murray (17 January 1873 – 7 March 1959) was an Irish dramatist who was closely associated with the Abbey Theatre

Abbey Theatre

The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...

. He was born in Macroom

Macroom

Macroom is a market town in Ireland located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee, between Cork and Killarney. It is one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census...

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, and educated at St Patrick's Teacher Training College in Drumcondra, Dublin

Drumcondra, Dublin

Drumcondra is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council.The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area.-History:...

. He worked as a schoolteacher and in 1900 was appointed headmaster of the national school in Rathduff, Co. Cork. His first play, The Wheel of Fortune, was produced by the Little Theatre in Cork in 1909. It was revised and renamed Sovereign Love in 1913. Murray had co-founded the theatre with Daniel Corkery, Con O'Leary and Terence McSwiney. In 1915, he moved to Dublin as headmaster of the Model Schools at Inchicore, where he remained until his retirement from teaching in 1932.

His play Birthright was performed in the Abbey Theatre in 1910 and established him as a writer of force. In all, he wrote 15 plays, all of which were produced by the Abbey. His two most highly regarded works are Maurice Harte (1912) and Autumn Fire (1924). Both of these and Birthright were performed in New York on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

, with Autumn Fire having a run of 71 performances. Murray also wrote an autobiographical novel Spring Horizon (1937).

It has been stated both by A. DeGiacomo and by R. Allen Cave that, in the Art competitions at the 1924 Olympics

Art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics

Art competitions were held as part of the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Medals were awarded in five categories , for works inspired by sport-related themes....

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Murray was awarded a bronze medal for his play Birthright. However, according to the official record for the games, although Murray was a participant in the literature category with this play and also with Maurice Harte he did not win a medal.

Plays

• The Wheel of Fortune 1909.
• Birthright (two acts) 1910.
• Maurice Harte (two acts) 1912.
• Sovereign Love (one act) 1913.
• The Briery Gap (one act) 1917.
• Spring (one act) 1918.
• The Serf 1920.
• Aftermath (three acts) 1922.
• Autumn Fire (three acts) 1924.
• The Pipe in the Fields (one act) 1927.
• The Blind Wolf 1928.
• A Flutter of Wings 1930.
• Michaelmas Eve (three acts) 1932.
• A Spot in the Sun 1938.
• Illumination (two acts) 1939.