First published 2010
In this fierce drama that premiered at Dublin's Abbey Theatre, Kilroy strips bare the devastating toll that religious and political institutions exact on Ireland's youngest victims. The play centers on characters caught between the crushing weight of ecclesiastical authority and government indifference. Children become pawns in a system that claims to protect them while systematically destroying their innocence and futures. Through stark dialogue and unflinching scenes, the work reveals how those meant to shepherd and govern instead exploit and abandon. The characters struggle against forces far greater than themselves, fighting for dignity in a world that has commodified their suffering. Kilroy refuses to soften the brutal reality of institutional abuse, showing how the price of survival often means losing everything that makes life worth living. The emotional heart of the work lies in its unflinching examination of power's corruption and childhood's vulnerability.
Genres: drama, irish-literature, abuse
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, power-dynamics
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
Period: 20th-century
72 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse, emotional-abuse