The plays of Thomas Kilroy, who has died aged 89, presented Ireland with a moving picture of its development from the 1950s to the present day. As he said at the age of 80: “Socially and in terms of religion, something big is being dismantled and that is very exciting.”
His career was characterised by the personal and professional courage that this kind of drama required. Refusing to be conditioned by the expectations of his audience, Kilroy encouraged them to think outside the boxes of religion, social conventions and sexual mores, and he gave voice to unspoken fears and anxieties.
