Patrick Kavanagh’s Tarry Flynn is re-imagined

Tarry Flynn, the novel by Patrick Kavanagh has been described as the countryman’s Hamlet. Set in Cavan in the 1930s, it tells the story of Tarry, a farmer poet, and his quest for bog fields, young women and the meaning of life. His sensibility is torn between two impulses; the poetic and the libidinous. He has to decide between staying on, close to his beloved patchwork fields or striking out into the wider world.

The 1997 production adapted and directed by Conal Morrison will be remembered by audience members who witnessed the transformative power of the actors who morphed from people into chickens and other farm animals before their eyes in what was a visceral and vibrant production involving much choreography and dance. This was post Riverdance Ireland!

PJ O’Connor also adapted the novel for the Abbey stage back in 1966.

The image depicts James Kennedy as Tarry being held aloft by Eugene O’Brien and Vincent McCabe amongst others.