R.I.P. Tom MacIntyre (1931–2019)

At Irish Times, friends and fans remember poet and playwright Tom MacIntyre, who passed away last week at the age of 87. "Born in Co Cavan in 1931," Martin Doyle explains, "MacIntyre was best known for his theatre work, in particular The Great Hunger, an acclaimed collaboration with director Patrick Mason and actor Tom Hickey." Picking up there: 

He also published numerous volumes of poetry and short stories, the novel The Charollais, and Through The Bridewell Gate, an examination of the 1970 Arms Trial.

He is survived by his wife Celine and his five children, Deirdre, Darragh, Donal, Desmond and Tadhg, from his first marriage to Peggy McCarthy.

The funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, November 2nd, at 1pm in St Anne’s Church, Bailieborough, Co Cavan, followed by cremation in Lakeland Crematorium, Cavan.

A member of Aosdána for decades, his work was characterised by originality, courage and in creative terms, the pushing of the boundaries for actors, stage and audience. In this he will be missed by his great collaborator in so much of his work – Tom Hickey.

Tom McIntyre’s The Great Hunger, his acclaimed collaboration with Patrick Mason and Tom Hickey in the 1980s, was one wonderful achievement in a body of fine work. His Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire showed his instinct to distil the essence of tragic loss, his bilingual ability being a real advantage. 

His poetry and short stories reflected so their existentialist provocations, and his loyalty to the intimacies of his Cavan, and particularly its people, alive and dead...

Learn more at Irish Times.