Murphy, Tom (1935– )

Irish dramatist, born in Tuam, County Galway. His work directly confronts human violence, exploring late 20th-century Irish life as it contradicts the ideals of the Catholic Church and the Republic's founding poets and politicians.

Murphy was educated by the Christian Brothers and originally trained as a metalworker. After his early plays were rejected by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, he moved to London where he achieved success with A Whistle in the Dark (1961) and Famine (1968). He returned to Ireland in 1970. Morning After Optimism (1971) is his most experimental play, while Conversations on a Homecoming (1985) presents sympathetic female characters who are sources of both inspirational hope and generosity of spirit.