A clutch of tramps surrounded Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue yesterday - looking for cake. They were Gaiety School of Acting tramps, at a photocall for the cutting of a birthday cake in the National Library's Heraldic Museum on Kildare Street on the eve of Beckett's 100th birthday today.
Isn't there something un-Beckettian about a birthday cake? This one at least had no candles, but was stark white, with the requisite tramp's boots in black icing on top.
The Minister's hand on the knife hovered over the concoction, created by Sarah Durcan of Ice Angels. Michael Colgan, as omnipresent these days as Beckett was retiring and elusive, was there, with Sam's nephew Edward Beckett, for the cake-cutting.
The pictures were taken, but the cake was not actually cut (it later went to the Minister's office for an event last evening).
Today, April 13th, is noted and celebrated worldwide as Samuel Beckett's birthday but, according to Anthony Cronin's biography, his date of birth was May 13th. Mind you, if you're going to shave a bit off your true age, a month is hardly worth it.
The occasion also marked the opening of the Beckett audio-visual library, where the public can watch and hear recorded Beckett performances and readings on individual screens, at the Heraldic Museum until the end of May.
Meanwhile, North Tipperary Fianna Fáil TD Máire Hoctor yesterday criticised RTÉ for screening Beckett's plays when most people are likely to be in bed. Ms Hoctor, a former teacher, said "Surely RTÉ can, for a single week, give Beckett a prime-time slot. Surely his artistic output, celebrated the world over, deserves more sensible scheduling than after midnight. It is almost as if RTÉ begrudges screening Beckett's plays at all."
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