Patricia Burke Brogan
Encyclopedia
Patricia Burke Brogan, Irish
playwright
, novelist, poet
and artist
.
After moving to Galway
from County Clare
aged two, Patricia Burke Brogan grew up surrounded by books and music. Her father was a huge influence on her childhood and she began reading and 'scribbling' at a young age. As Patricia grew up, her interest in art, music and writing continued and, despite being told she should focus on one area, she refused to choose between her great loves, as they "expressed different sides" of her. She has kept this ethos throughout the years and now divides her time between her writing and visual art. It was Patricia's first play, Eclipsed that would mark the start of an illustrious career.
Eclipsed was one of the first plays to tell the story of the Magdalene Laundries and was inspired by Patricia's experiences as a young novitiate
. After seeing the horrendous goings on, Patricia decided that becoming a nun was not for her. Instead she decided to highlight the plight of these women in her writing.
The play has since won many awards, including a Fringe First at Edinburgh
Theatre Festival in 1992,ref>http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:cHsu-lTL2DUJ:www.philmacgiollabhain.com/pdf/ip171092.pdf+punchbag+burke+brogan&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESge5sdWVN8i0P_xrLTWWYpZE6_AC9x-nD1PH7L4c2AT7N7hLNH-lWN8BUFkSOGuP5P3bvf-sPJpcqrzlypjIqgLNVbMZgtH7IhG2618PtWouRcCCXHfF8yZHSccXorzt2ONs3BZ&sig=AHIEtbTrpuyPFPDF27LNrQh7mHzMyf4mSQ and the USA Moss Hart
Award in 1994. To date, there have been 61 productions of Eclipsed on three continents, but the controversial work was not always so well received, being initially rejected by all of the main theatre companies, who said it was too controversial,. To overcome this, a small company called Punchbag agreed to do it in 1992. She received some personal attacks for its production.
Since then, Burke Brogan has continued to write two more plays, Requiem of Love and Stained Glass at Samhain (2002), and has also released a number of poetry collections. Her latest work, Décollage New and Selected Poems, was launched in October 2008 at the Galway City Museum
.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, novelist, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
After moving to Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
from County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
aged two, Patricia Burke Brogan grew up surrounded by books and music. Her father was a huge influence on her childhood and she began reading and 'scribbling' at a young age. As Patricia grew up, her interest in art, music and writing continued and, despite being told she should focus on one area, she refused to choose between her great loves, as they "expressed different sides" of her. She has kept this ethos throughout the years and now divides her time between her writing and visual art. It was Patricia's first play, Eclipsed that would mark the start of an illustrious career.
Eclipsed was one of the first plays to tell the story of the Magdalene Laundries and was inspired by Patricia's experiences as a young novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
. After seeing the horrendous goings on, Patricia decided that becoming a nun was not for her. Instead she decided to highlight the plight of these women in her writing.
The play has since won many awards, including a Fringe First at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
Theatre Festival in 1992,ref>http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:cHsu-lTL2DUJ:www.philmacgiollabhain.com/pdf/ip171092.pdf+punchbag+burke+brogan&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESge5sdWVN8i0P_xrLTWWYpZE6_AC9x-nD1PH7L4c2AT7N7hLNH-lWN8BUFkSOGuP5P3bvf-sPJpcqrzlypjIqgLNVbMZgtH7IhG2618PtWouRcCCXHfF8yZHSccXorzt2ONs3BZ&sig=AHIEtbTrpuyPFPDF27LNrQh7mHzMyf4mSQ and the USA Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
Award in 1994. To date, there have been 61 productions of Eclipsed on three continents, but the controversial work was not always so well received, being initially rejected by all of the main theatre companies, who said it was too controversial,. To overcome this, a small company called Punchbag agreed to do it in 1992. She received some personal attacks for its production.
" ... there was some backlash and I really suffered with that play. I had someone cut my picture out of the paper and draw horns and different symbols on it and send it to me. I got up one morning and this had been thrown in the door, which was very upsetting and hard to handle. People thought I was being anti-Church but I wasn't. Everyone blamed the sisters, but the State did nothing to intervene."
Since then, Burke Brogan has continued to write two more plays, Requiem of Love and Stained Glass at Samhain (2002), and has also released a number of poetry collections. Her latest work, Décollage New and Selected Poems, was launched in October 2008 at the Galway City Museum
Galway City Museum
The Galway City Museum is a museum in Galway City, County Galway, Ireland. It was founded on 29 July 2006, and is located beside the Spanish Arch.The official website for the was launched on the 27th November 2008-References:**-External links:*...
.