O'Keeffe (or O'Keefe), John (1747–1833)

In a scene from The Castle of Andalusia, by John O'Keeffe, John Quick plays Spado. This portrait of the actor was painted by Gainsborough Dupont. The painting is at the Garrick Club, London, England.

Irish dramatist and actor, born in Dublin, whose plays were popular in London. They include comedies, farces, and operas, such as The Poor Soldier (1783) and Wild Oats (1791).

O'Keeffe started acting at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. After about 1770 he moved to London and turned to writing plays, generally full of Irish characters. More prolific than his contemporaries Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, his success was, however, less enduring. His weak eyesight made him totally blind by 1790 and ended his acting career. He wrote 68 pieces for the theatre, mostly comedies. His Recollections appeared in 1826. The Abbey Theatre revived Wild Oats in 1977.