George Fitzmaurice

George Fitzmaurice (28 January 1877 – 12 May 1963) was an Irish dramatist and short story writer, some of whose plays were broadcast on Radio Éireann.

Early life George Fitzmaurice was born at Bedford House, Listowel, County Kerry on 28 January 1877. On his return to Dublin after the war, he took up a position working for the Land Commission.

Family life Fitzmaurice and his eleven siblings were the children of a mixed marriage. He and his brothers were brought up as Protestants and his sisters were brought up as Roman Catholics. His family home at Bedford, together with its extensive lands had to be given up as collateral in respect of a £60 debt owed to the local butcher. He was the last Fitzmaurice of Duagh. There are no photographs of Fitzmaurice other than a sketch of him in later life. which featured one of Fitzmaurice's most famous characters, Luke Quilter, "The man from the mountain". This character's appearance in the play proved to be a favourite with his audience, to the surprise of W.B. Yeats. The play's commercial success brought necessary income to the Abbey Theatre in 1907.

Fitzmaurice's second play was a dramatic fantasy called The Pie Dish. It was heavily rejected and slated by critics and considered blasphemous. This led to the rejection of another of his plays called The Dandy Dolls which is now understood as another of his best plays. It was produced in the Abbey Theatre in 1969, six years after Fitzmaurice died.

The Country Dressmaker was broadcast on Radio Éireann Players, during his lifetime, some of his dramatic works were produced by poet Austin Clarke in Lyric Theatre, Dublin. In 1923 his play Twixt by Giltinans and the Carmodys was also performed in the Abbey and eight more of his plays were printed in the literary journal The Dublin Magazine from 1924 to 1925.

Selected works

Plays Similar to the plays of Synge, Fitzmaurice's plays are characterised by strong if not bitter realism mixed with outlandish modes of speech typical of the Irish people of that time.

The Pie-Dish, 1908 The Moonlighter, 1912 The Dandy Dolls (written 1911, published 1914, first staged in 1945) The Magic Glasses, 1913 The Country Dressmaker, 1914 ’Twixt the Giltinans and the Carmodys, 1923.