Tom Mac Intyre has been a vibrant presence in Irish theater since the early 1970s. In a country that treasures its literary tradition, particularly in the theater, Mac Intyre has brought an element of play and of risk to the stage that has profoundly influenced recent theatrical developments. He has worked consistently and has had many of his plays produced at the Peacock Theatre, the smaller stage of the National Theatre Society, as opposed to the larger Abbey Theatre. Despite having worked within the establishment, however, Mac Intyre is a controversial figure who has somehow managed to remain outside the dominant discourse.

Born in Cavan on 10 October 1931, Mac Intyre, whose parents were teachers, studied English literature at University College Dublin and worked in the United States periodically from the mid 1960s until 1980. While in New York in the early 1970s he was deeply influenced by the developments in...