Irish playwright Brian Friel (1929-2015) was born at Knockmoyle near Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland to Patrick Friel, a schoolteacher, and Mary Friel, née McLoone, a postmistress. He was educated at St. Columb’s College in Derry, received his BA from St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and later attended St. Mary’s Training College, Belfast. Subsequently Friel returned to Derry, teaching school for ten years.

In 1960 Friel began writing full time and by 1964 had produced his first play, Philadelphia, Here I Come! at the Dublin Theatre Festival. Long associated with the Abbey Theatre, by 1980 Friel founded the Field Day Theatre Company with actor Stephen Rea. He was elected Saoi of Aosdána, Ireland’s highest artistic honour, in 2006. Friel died 2 November 2015 in Greencastle, County Donegal.

Pat Laffan (1939-2019) was an Irish actor best known for his roles as Pat Mustard in Father Ted and as Mr. Burgess in Roddy Doyle’s The Snapper. He was a member of the Abbey Theatre company throughout the 1960s and 70s and served as the director of the Peacock Theatre in the mid-70s as well as the Gate Theatre from 1981-1983. Laffan died 14 March 2019 in Dublin.

Bronwen Casson (1948 - ) served as the resident set designer for the National Theatre of Ireland from 1970-1995. In 2003 she received a BA in photography and digital imaging from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and works as a photographer, artist, and digital artist.