The Shadow of a Gunman
Encyclopedia
The Shadow of a Gunman is a 1923 play by Seán O'Casey
. It centers on the mistaken identity of a building tenant who is thought to be an IRA
assassin.
It is the first in O'Casey's "Dublin Trilogy" - the other two being Juno and the Paycock
(1924) and The Plough and the Stars (1926).
volunteer (gunman on the run). Donal does not refute this notoriety, especially when it wins him the affection of Minnie Powell, an attractive young woman in the tenement. Meanwhile, Seumas' business partner, Mr Maguire hides a bag full of Mills Bomb
s in Seumas' apartment before participating in an ambush in which he is killed. The city is put under curfew as a result of the ambush, and Donal and Seumas do not discover the grenades until the Auxies
are raiding the tenement. Minnie Powell takes the bag and hides it in her own room. The Auxies find nothing of note in Seumas' room, but take off Minnie Powell, who is later killed trying to escape.
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
. It centers on the mistaken identity of a building tenant who is thought to be an IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
assassin.
It is the first in O'Casey's "Dublin Trilogy" - the other two being Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...
(1924) and The Plough and the Stars (1926).
Setting
Dublin. May 1920. Each act takes place in Seumas Shield's room in a tenement in Hilljoy Square.Synopsis
Donal Davoren is a poet who has come to room with Seumas Shields in a poor, Dublin tenement slum. Many of the residents of the tenement mistake Donal for an IRAIrish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
volunteer (gunman on the run). Donal does not refute this notoriety, especially when it wins him the affection of Minnie Powell, an attractive young woman in the tenement. Meanwhile, Seumas' business partner, Mr Maguire hides a bag full of Mills Bomb
Mills bomb
Mills bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades in the world.-Overview:...
s in Seumas' apartment before participating in an ambush in which he is killed. The city is put under curfew as a result of the ambush, and Donal and Seumas do not discover the grenades until the Auxies
Auxiliary Division
The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary , generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary organization within the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence....
are raiding the tenement. Minnie Powell takes the bag and hides it in her own room. The Auxies find nothing of note in Seumas' room, but take off Minnie Powell, who is later killed trying to escape.
Characters
- Donal Davoren - a poet of about thirty living with Seumus in the tenement. Some of the residents suspect he has an affiliation with the IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
. - Seumas Shields - a peddler of about thirty five.
- Tommy Owens - a younger man of twenty five that is enamored with the Republican effort.
- Adolphus Grigson - an alcoholic resident of the tenement.
- Mrs Grigson - Adolphus' wife.
- Minnie Powell - a woman of twenty three that fawns over Davoran by virtue of his supposed IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
connections. - Mr Mulligan - the landlord of the tenement.
- Mr Maguire - an IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
volunteer and friend of Seumas'. - Mrs Henderson - a resident of a neighboring tenement and a champion of Mr Gallogher's plea.
- Mr Gallogher - a resident of a neighboring tenement seeking the IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
's help. - An Auxiliary - a soldier of the Auxiliary DivisionAuxiliary DivisionThe Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary , generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary organization within the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence....
Television
- A 1972 televised version starred Frank ConverseFrank ConverseFrank Converse is an American actor. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
and Academy Award winner Richard DreyfussRichard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
. - In 1992 Kenneth BranaghKenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
, Stephen ReaStephen ReaStephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
and Bronagh GallagherBronagh Gallagher- External links :*...
starred in an adaption as part of the 1992 BBC2BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
Performance series.