Over the past forty years, writer Sebastian Barry has created an impressive body of work and carved out a distinctive place in contemporary Irish culture.
From The Steward Of Christendom to The Secret Scripture, his multi award-winning plays and novels have delved into the dark crevices of family life, Irish history and that troubled space where they overlap. He has done this with an authorial voice that is like no other.
Now a remarkable new RTÉ documentary, Family Stories, looks at the shaping influences, on Barry's life and work of: his actress mother; his architect/poet father; his wife and children. As a counterpoint, the film reflects on the development of his writing career, from first-time playwright to becoming the Laureate for Irish Fiction - watch a clip from Family Stories above.
The film explores the universal themes of family, love, loss, creativity and redemption, along with the truism that the past is never over. As Barry has written: 'our ancestors hide in our DNA, so do their stories'.
Family Stories is the latest in a series of writers' profiles made by director Charlie McCarthy and producer Clíona Ní Bhuachalla; these have included documentaries on John Banville, Edna O’Brien and Colum McCann, as well as their multi-award-winning Seamus Heaney film, Out of the Marvellous.
"I am honoured that Sebastian agreed to collaborate with us on this film," says McCarthy. "He is of course a wonderful writer, but he is also a mesmeric teller of his own life’s story".
Sebastian Barry: Family Stories, RTÉ One, Monday 20th March at 9.35pm - watch it now via RTÉ Player.
