Sebastian Barry, "Still Life, with Donal" (Laureate For Irish Fiction Annual Lecture 2019)

The Arts Council Podcast

In late 1994 Donal McCann undertook to play the lead in The Steward of Christendom. The second Laureate lecture, called Still Life, with Donal is Sebastian Barry's account of the extraordinary experience of working with such a unique, challenging and veritably nuclear actor and human being. Barry's first Laureate for Irish Fiction Lecture The Lives of Saints was delivered in Dublin in autumn 2018. It reflected on the people and writers who supported him along his writing journey, including his aunt Annie, Val Mulkerns, Benedict Kiely, Michael Hartnett, Leland Bardwell, Tom Murphy and Harold Pinter. Sebastian Barry is the second Laureate for Irish Fiction and was awarded the honour by the Arts Council in early 2018. The Laureate for Irish Fiction promotes Irish literature nationally and internationally and encourage the public to engage with high quality Irish fiction. The Laureate for Irish Fiction has been developed by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and is supported by University College Dublin (UCD) and New York University (NYU).