John B. Keane

John B. Keane was born in Listowel, Co. Kerry, where he ran a pub which provided him with inspiration for his characters. His first play, Sive, was presented by the Listowel Drama Group and won the All-Ireland Drama Festival in 1959. Later plays The Field (1965) and Big Maggie (1969) are widely regarded as classics of the modern Irish stage and have been staged in cities as far afield as Moscow and Los Angeles. The Field was adapted into an Oscar-winning Hollywood film in 1991. Keane's novels include The Contractors, A High Meadow and Durango, which was adapted for cinema. A writer of essays, short stories and letters, Keane's humorous words live on in The Celebrated Letters of John B. Keane, More Celebrated Letters, The Best of John B. Keane and The Short Stories of John B. Keane. In 1987, John B. Keane received a special award for his enduring place in Irish life and letters from the Sunday Independent/Irish Life and a Sunday Tribune Arts Award. In 1999 he was presented with a Gradam medal, the Abbey Theatre's highest award. Keane was a member of Aosdána and the recipient of honorary doctorates from Trinity College, Dublin, Limerick University and Marymount College, New York. John B. Keane died in 2002.