Making History (play)

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Making History
Making History.png
Script cover
Written by Brian Friel
Characters Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Mabel Bagenal
Harry Hoveden
Hugh Roe O'Donnell
Mary Bagenal
Peter Lombard
Date premieredSeptember 20, 1988 (1988-09-20)
Place premiered Guildhall, Derry
Original languageEnglish
Subject Irish nationalism, Nine Years' War, historiography
Genre History play
Setting Dungannon, Sperrin Mountains and Rome, 1590s

Making History is a play written by Irish playwright Brian Friel in 1988, premiered at the Guildhall, Derry on 20 September 1988. [1] It focuses on the life of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, who led a combined Irish-Spanish alliance against the English during the Nine Years' War. The play is set before and after the Battle of Kinsale. The battle does not directly feature in the play, although it is central to the plot.

Contents

The play's other main theme is O'Neill's unexpected third marriage to the much younger Anglo-Irish Protestant Mabel Bagenal, daughter and sister of two of his most implacable enemies, which the play presents as a genuine though ill-fated love marriage. [2]

Characters

In its original production, O'Neill was portrayed by Stephen Rea, and Lombard by Niall Tóibín. Clare Holman and Emma Dewhurst respectively played Mabel Bagenal and her sister Mary. [3]

Related Research Articles

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Henry Hovenden was an Anglo-Irish secretary and lawyer. He was foster-brother and chief advisor to Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone during the Irish Nine Years' War.

Rose O'Neill was a Gaelic Irish noblewoman and queen consort of Tyrconnell. She was the daughter of Hugh O'Neill and wife of "Red" Hugh Roe O'Donnell, the two leaders of the Irish confederacy during the Nine Years' War. Her marriage to O'Donnell was a deliberate move to unite the O'Neills and the O'Donnells, the two most powerful Irish clans of their day. She separated from O'Donnell in 1595 and their marriage formally ended the following year.

References

  1. "PROGRAMME: Making History, by Brian Friel (1988) - Field Day". Field Day. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  2. Peacock, Alan J. The Achievement of Brian Friel Rowman and Littlefield 1993
  3. Morgan, Hiram (August 2007). "Theatre Eye: Playing the earl: Brian Friel's Making History". History Ireland . 15 (4).

Further reading