Sean O'Casey (1880-1964) was an Irish-born playwright whose work frequently depicted the lives of working-class people. He was born in Dublin in difficult circumstances, made worse when his father died when Sean was six years old. His mother took over the sole care of Sean and his twelve siblings. O'Casey struggled with his eyesight his entire life, and eventually went blind, although he continued to write until his death.
He was a person of strong political convictions; although he was raised Protestant, he joined the Irish rebellion against English rule (the majority of those involved in the rebellion were Catholic) and nearly lost his life in the struggle. After Ireland obtained...
