Tom Murphy is considered by many to be Ireland's greatest playwright. He has written twenty-five plays and has received numerous awards and nominations. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and with Druid Theatre in Galway. His first successful play, A Whistle in the Dark, was performed at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in 1961 where it caused great controversy. A major restrospective of his work was presented at the Abbey Theatre in 2001. He has published six play collections with Methuen Drama in the Contemporary Dramatists series.

Richly rewarding … Conversations on a Homecoming … offers a microcosm of Irish life and what is extraordinary is how much of it Murphy packs in: the failed dreams, the love of drink, the male fear of women and the emergence of a bustling class of entrepreneurs … the play pins down better than any work I know the Irish need to escape … with A Whistle in the Dark … Murphy’s viscerally powerful play shows a fighting Irish family, the Carneys … what Murphy captures perfectly is the rootlessness of the myth-making Carneys … with Famine … we see the real source of Ireland’s tragedy … I emerged astonished … by Murphy’s historical awareness.

Tom Murphy is considered by many to be Ireland's greatest playwright. He has written twenty-five plays and has received numerous awards and nominations. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and with Druid Theatre in Galway. His first successful play, A Whistle in the Dark, was performed at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in 1961 where it caused great controversy. A major restrospective of his work was presented at the Abbey Theatre in 2001. He has published six play collections with Methuen Drama in the Contemporary Dramatists series.

Richly rewarding … Conversations on a Homecoming … offers a microcosm of Irish life and what is extraordinary is how much of it Murphy packs in: the failed dreams, the love of drink, the male fear of women and the emergence of a bustling class of entrepreneurs … the play pins down better than any work I know the Irish need to escape … with A Whistle in the Dark … Murphy’s viscerally powerful play shows a fighting Irish family, the Carneys … what Murphy captures perfectly is the rootlessness of the myth-making Carneys … with Famine … we see the real source of Ireland’s tragedy … I emerged astonished … by Murphy’s historical awareness.