Teresa Deevy: The life and legacy of an extraordinary Irish playwright

Teresa Deevy may not be a familiar name to most people, but it should be.

Born in 1894, the Waterford woman, who was deaf from the age of nineteen, was a successful dramatist and playwright.

Her work focused on strong female protagonists, family, relationships and identity.

In the 1930s, six of her plays were performed on stage in the Abbey Theatre and her reputation as a brilliant and talented writer had critics referring to her as the next Sean O’Casey or the ‘Irish Chekhov’.

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That was until, Ernest Blythe became artistic director of the Abbey in 1941 and declared his vision for the theatre was incompatible with Deevy’s work, putting an abrupt end to her growing career.

The story of this forgotten playwright will be told in a new RTE documentary, Tribute to Teresa Deevy, created by performance artist Amanda Coogan.

In this episode of The Irish Times Women’s Podcast, Coogan speaks to Róisín Ingle about Deevy’s life and legacy and why she should be celebrated.

You can listen back to this conversation in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.