Peter Sheridan recalls his family taking in lodgers, dealing with bereavement and the world of Seán O'Casey.
Peter Sheridan is a writer, playwright and theatre director who grew up in Seville Place in Dublin. He a brother of film director Jim Sheridan.
His book '44 : A Dublin Memoir’ has just been published which paints a picture of his family, childhood and adolescence in Dublin north inner city during the 1960s. Their household also consisted of some colourful characters for periods of time. The Sheridan parents took in lodgers to pay for their children’s education.
Peter Sheridan describes how one man provoked his father to such a degree during their evening meal that the argument was settled in an unconventional manner,
The two of them wrestling on the floor...Ma with the teapot stepping over them.
The Sheridan family sadly lost their youngest Frankie to illness, and each of them had to find their own way through their grief. Peter Sheridan says his mother was their primary support.
Ma got us all through, she was the rock.
After some time his father (also named Peter) started up an amateur dramatic group and introduced his family to the works of Seán O’Casey. This made a lasting impression on the young Peter Sheridan, who immediately identified with the setting, language and people of the plays. Peter Sheridan is grateful to his father as,
He gave us this extraordinary gift.
This episode of The Late Late Show was broadcast on 12 March 1999. The presenter is Gay Byrne.
