David Ireland – författare

In 1984, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Hunter v Southam, declared warrantless searches unreasonable under section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Police would henceforth require authorization based on "reasonable and probable grounds." The decision promised to protect individuals from state power, but as Richard Jochelson and David Ireland argue, post-Hunter search and seizure law took a turn away from the landmark decision. An examination of dozens of subsequent cases reveals that section 8 protections have become more difficult to obtain in the post-9/11 era. Rather than developing rigorous standards for new search and surveillance techniques and technologies, the courts have used the Charter to sanction broader police powers. Yet, even as it demonstrates that the core principles of Justice Dickson's vision for section 8 rights have been diminished, Privacy in Peril suggests that increasing citation of Hunter in the halls of justice offers hope that some protection of civil liberties will endure in the twenty-first century.

In 1984, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Hunter v Southam, declared warrantless searches unreasonable under section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Police would henceforth require authorization based on "reasonable and probable grounds." The decision promised to protect individuals from state power, but as Richard Jochelson and David Ireland argue, post-Hunter search and seizure law took a turn away from the landmark decision. An examination of dozens of subsequent cases reveals that section 8 protections have become more difficult to obtain in the post-9/11 era. Rather than developing rigorous standards for new search and surveillance techniques and technologies, the courts have used the Charter to sanction broader police powers. Yet, even as it demonstrates that the core principles of Justice Dickson's vision for section 8 rights have been diminished, Privacy in Peril suggests that increasing citation of Hunter in the halls of justice offers hope that some protection of civil liberties will endure in the twenty-first century.

I bit into your heart and I chewed on it slowly like a connoisseur. I swallowed it. I remember thinking it was an especially small heart and easy to digest. But no matter what I did you wouldn’t die.A searing and darkly funny two-hander for women which looks at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Northern Ireland, written by the playwright of Cyprus Avenue, David Ireland.It is day one of the newly formed Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Northern Ireland at Stormont. As Sandra Richardson prepares to take her seat on the commission, her long-lost sister Teeni explodes into the chamber and attacks the South African chairwoman, Dikeledi Mashiane. Is this part of a terrorist plot or just her sister’s way of announcing her return to Belfast? Deep in the heart of the Northern Irish Parliament, overshadowed by the legacy of hurt, Sandra and Teeni must fight through decades of violence, anger and denial to discover if reconciliation is possible on the pathway to peace.A taut and fast paced two-woman showdown, Everything Between Us is a dramatic, dark, unflinching comedy written by Northern Ireland’s boldest contemporary writer. Everything Between Us premiered in Washington DC, USA, in 2011, followed by productions in Northern Ireland and Scotland, winning playwright David Ireland the Stewart Parker Trust Award, BBC Radio Drama Award and the Meyer Whitworth Award for Best New Play. This edition was published to coincide with the London premiere at the Finborough Theatre in April 2017.

Would you mind if I asked you a troubling question?Jay is the Oscar-winning actor taking the lead in a new play that connects with his Irish roots. Leigh is the ambitious director who will do anything to get noticed. Ruth is the Northern Irish playwright whose voice must be heard.The stage is set for great success, but when the three meet to discuss the play’s challenges and provocations, a line is crossed and the heated discussion quickly escalates to a violent climax. Exploring consent, abuses of power and the confusions of cultural identity, Ulster American is confrontational, brutally funny and not for the faint of heart. David Ireland’s recent plays include Cyprus Avenue which won the James Tait Black Award 2017 and Best Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2017. This edition is published to coincide with the world premiere at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in summer 2018.

Winner of the James Tait Black Prize for Drama 2017Gerry Adams has disguised himself as a newborn baby and successfully infiltrated my family home.Eric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. He believes his five-week old granddaughter is Gerry Adams.His family keep telling him to stop living in the past and fighting old battles that nobody cares about anymore, but his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.David Ireland’s black comedy takes one man’s identity crisis to the limits as he uncovers the modern day complexity of Ulster Loyalism.Cyprus Avenue was first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 2016, before transferring to the Royal Court Theatre, The MAC in Belfast and The Public Theater in New York.

“Ireland’s play slyly makes the case that it is not discrimination that ensures survival ... but rather the ability to be two opposing things at once: Irish and British, politician and terrorist, even comedy and tragedy. If tragicomedy is the natural Irish form, Ireland makes his own inversion here, beginning with amused splutters, ending in hard gulps” The Irish TimesEric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. He believes his five-week old granddaughter is Gerry Adams. His family keep telling him to stop living in the past and fighting old battles that nobody cares about anymore, but his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.David Ireland’s black comedy takes one man’s identity crisis to the limits as he uncovers the modern day complexity of Ulster Loyalism.Cyprus Avenue premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 2016, before transferring to the Royal Court Theatre, The MAC in Belfast and The Public Theater in New York. It won Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama, 2017.This edition features a new introduction by Professor Ondrej Pilny.

Sadie has a one-night stand with the new office temp, Joao, but it develops into something much more serious when Joao reveals he’s in love with her. Sadie is flattered but she has a long history of terrible relationships. She wonders if it’s even possible for her to be happy in love? To answer that question, she calls upon her long dead uncle Red and her abusive ex-husband Clark, as well as her new therapist Mairead. Together they help her face some horrifying truths she’s kept hidden for too long. Lyric Theatre Belfast, in association with Stephen Rea’s Field Day Theatre Company, bring this powerful new play to the stage, to be broadcast on BBC Four as part of BBC Arts ‘Lights up’ for the new Culture in Quarantine Season – a celebration of British theatre, bringing newly-recorded staged productions from UK theatres to audiences across television, radio, iPlayer and BBC Sounds.Directed by Conleth Hill (Lord Varys, Game of Thrones) it stars award-winning actress Abigail McGibbon.

It’s harder to kill people when there’s a peace process on.Ulster Loyalist Alan Black is kept awake every night by his neighbour McCorrick’s dog barking. To add to his difficulties, McCorrick refuses to acknowledge that he even owns a dog, let alone one that is creating a disturbance.In a Northern Ireland he barely recognises, where politics has proved just to be the continuation of war by other means, a disconsolate Alan sets out to rid himself of the incessant noise. As he seeks help from authority figures, he finally – as a very last resort – turns to the only voice he can really trust, Eamonn Holmes…Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the partition of Ireland and the foundation of Northern Ireland, Yes So I Said Yes is a blackly comic, ferocious, dystopian satire about what it’s like to feel alone in a place where everyone else is conspiring to erase you and your history.This edition was published to coincide with the production at London's Finborough Theatre in November 2021.

'Playwright David Ireland challenges people to draw lines between what they find funny and what they find outrageous' (Sydney Morning Herald) This first collection of plays by David Ireland brings together three of his most successful hits that have enjoyed numerous productions around the world alongside two previously unpublished plays: Half a Glass of Water: 'The dialogue is brutal and tender, horrific and humorous ... this is a tough, challenging work, undercut by Ireland's trademark black humour, which asks questions of what a successful post-conflict society looks like.' (Independent) The End of Hope: 'A freewheeling, majestically entertaining, all-too-brief hour that touches on everything from religion and identity to body dysmorphia' (Times)Cyprus Avenue: 'The most shocking play on the London stage ... a blackly comic examination of sectarian hatred – and a subversive drama that has never been more relevant' (Guardian) Ulster American: 'What a brave, savage writer David Ireland is! There are moments in this play that are so shockingly provocative, so laugh-out-loud funny while simultaneously curl-into-a-ball-and cringe-worrying that I found my mouth was actually open. He can't go there, I thought. And then he did.' (WhatsOnStage) Sadie: 'A fascinating account of one woman, her troubles and the Troubles.' (Irish News)David Ireland was Playwright-in-Residence at the Lyric Theatre Belfast 2011-12. He won the Stewart Parker Award and the Meyer-Whitworth Award in 2012 and was shortlisted for the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright 2016. He won the James Tait Black Prize Award for Cyprus Avenue.

Matthew, I don’t give a f*** who’s Irish and who’s not. I’m just thinking about what’s best for your career. And that’s how themmuns in London’ll see you. Calling yourself British just embarrasses them.The morning after his father’s funeral, an unsure and still grief-stricken Matthew prepares to fly to London to audition for the prestigious drama school, RADA.When his painter-decorator Uncle Ray interrupts his private rendition of Richard III’s opening monologue to offer some unwanted direction and dubious career advice, Matthew starts to doubt whether he should really be leaving Belfast in the first place.First presented by A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór in May 2022. Not Now received its English premiere at the Finborough Theatre, London, in November 2022.Playwright David Ireland is the multi award-winning author of Cyprus Avenue.

Would you mind if I asked you a troubling question?An Oscar-winning American actor, an English director and a Northern Irish playwright are about to begin rehearsals for a new play — one that could transform each of their careers. But when it turns out that they’re not on the same page, the night threatens to spiral out of control.Power dynamics, cultural identity and the perils of being a woman in the entertainment industry; nothing is off limits in this pitch-black comedy from the award-winning playwright David Ireland.This edition is published to coincide with the revival at Riverside Studios, London, in December 2023.

Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026The point is to divest yourself of shame. Anything that'll make you pick up a drink in the future. It's about getting clean.After many years in the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, James agrees to become the sponsor of newcomer Luka.On the journey to sobriety, the pair bond over black coffee, trade stories, and build a fragile friendship out of their shared experiences.On the cusp of Step 5, their conversations must turn to confessionals, with progress hinging on Luka revealing secrets that could lead back to alcohol. But it’s clear that James also has dangerous truths in his past, truths that threaten the trust on which both their recoveries depend.David Ireland's The Fifth Step is a provocative, entertaining and subversively funny new play. This revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the @sohoplace production in May 2025, after its premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival.

But for me, it was love. It felt like love. Or the closest I've ever come to love. And I wanted to say thank you. For that.Mary's been sleeping with strangers across Scotland for eight months. Tonight's conquest: Mike, an American tourist who's never heard of KFC. After the best sex of her life, she tells him what she’s been hiding. Then he tells her what he’s been hiding. An explosive two-hander from award-winning writer David Ireland (The Fifth Step; Cyprus Avenue) that offers a sharp and hilarious exploration of faith and loneliness in a Travelodge. This edition was published to coincide with the run at Soho Theatre, London, in December 2025.

Twenty-five year-old east Belfast man Stevie meets forty-nine year-old Glaswegian widow Martha while recovering from a painful breakup with his ex-girlfriend. Stevie and Martha are immediately attracted to each other. Although their relationship is based entirely upon sexual attraction, they find themselves falling in love. This challenges the expectations of Stevie’s conservative Christian mother and his ultra-Unionist, Ulster-Scots-speaking sister who work hard to break the pair up. Stevie and Martha must decide if their relationship has a real future and if they can both overcome the pain of their heartbroken pasts.While primarily a hilarious comedy, Can’t Forget About You touches on deeper themes such as grief, loss, sexual mores, cultural identity, sectarianism, generation, and the question of how Northern Ireland moves on from the politics of the past and faces the future.

Gerry Adams has disguised himself as a newborn baby and successfully infiltrated my family home.Eric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. He believes his five-week old granddaughter is Gerry Adams.His family keep telling him to stop living in the past and fighting old battles that nobody cares about anymore, but his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.David Ireland’s black comedy takes one man’s identity crisis to the limits as he uncovers the modern day complexity of Ulster Loyalism.Cyprus Avenue was first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 11 February 2016, before transferring to the Royal Court Theatre, London in April 2016.

This book explores the concept of incongruent film music, challenging the idea that this label only describes music that is inappropriate or misfitting for a film’s images and narrative.

This book explores the concept of incongruent film music, challenging the idea that this label only describes music that is inappropriate or misfitting for a film’s images and narrative. Defining incongruence as a lack of shared properties in the audiovisual relationship, this study examines various types of incongruence between a film and its music and considers the active role that it can play in the construction of a film’s meaning and influencing audience response. Synthesising findings from research in the psychology of music in multimedia, as well as from ideas sourced in semiotics, film music, and poststructuralist theory, this interdisciplinary book provides a holistic perspective that reflects the complexity of moments of film-music incongruence. With case studies including well-known films such as Gladiator and The Shawshank Redemption, this book combines scene analysis and empirical audience reception tests to emphasise the subjectivity, context-dependency, and multi-dimensionality inherent in identifying and interpreting incongruent film music.

This book examines why, on the eve of the pamphlet’s 175th anniversary, the Communist Manifesto left so faint an imprint on Europe’s most revolutionary year of 1848, when it has had such a huge impact on posterity.

This book examines why, on the eve of the pamphlet’s 175th anniversary, the Communist Manifesto left so faint an imprint on Europe’s most revolutionary year of 1848, when it has had such a huge impact on posterity. The Manifesto that year misread bourgeois intentions, put too much faith in the industrial proletariat, too little in peasants, too much emphasis on the German states, and none on England. Marx and Engels preferred in 1848–9 to focus on the middle-class Neue Rheinische Zeitung, declining to galvanise working-class groups whose leadership they had actively sought. They neglected to return swiftly to the German states in their crucial 1848 ‘March days’. The Manifesto’s programme barely overlapped with contemporary campaigners or comparative pamphleteers, or the replacement Demands of the Communist Party in Germany. The book considers the consequences of Marx opting to write the Manifesto alone in January 1848. It also questions the source and significance of the pamphlet’s most memorialised phrase, ‘the spectre of Communism’, whether it was written for the ‘working men of all countries’ addressed in its finale, and whether Marx and Engels regarded the Manifesto as highly in 1848, as they undoubtedly did in later life.