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Joseph Holloway’s Abbey Theatre A Selection from His Unpublished Journal “Impressions of a Dublin Playgoer” Edited by Robert Hogan and Michael J. O’Neill Preface by Harry T. Moore Theatre History In his journal Joseph Holloway wrote, “Dublin without its Abbey would be a very dull place indeed . . .” Readers may find that the history of Dublin and the Abbey Theatre, although hardly dull, has been considerably enlivened by the fact that Mr. Holloway trundled home every day to record in detail his reactions to plays and players, and his comments about and conversations with literary and theatrical people. Letters to and from the diarist, as well as many that were given to him because of his interest in the theatre, were assiduously copied into his journal, written in a semilegible hand. Poring through the journal’s 221 bulky volumes, the editors have focused on Holloway’s accounts of the years from 1899 to 1926 as they are generally considered to be significant ones for the Abbey Theatre: the year of its founding to the production of Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars, which caused a riot in the theatre. Mr. Holloway attended every play during those years, as well as many rehearsals, and talked with practically everyone who had anything to do with the theatre. His journal reflects the tensions, feuds, and anguish that produced one of the great theatres of modern times. Robert Hogan is an associate professor of English at the University of California at Davis. Michael J. O’Neill is a professor of English at the University of Ottawa. Both have studied in Ireland and have written several books and published articles in many periodicals, including Modern Drama and The Dublin Magazine. Southern Illinois University Press 1915 University Press Drive Mail Code 6806 Carbondale, IL 62901 www.siu.edu/~siupress Cover illustration: Photograph of Abbey Theatre from Bettmann Archive Joseph Holloway’s Abbey Theatre A Selection from His Unpublished Journal “Impressions of a Dublin Playgoer” Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-8093-2937-9 ISBN 978-0-8093-2937-3 Southern Illinois University Press Hogan and O’Neill Hogan_cvr_CDDC.indd 1 7/6/09 9:35:18 AM ...