15 euro – 100th Anniversary of the Plough and the Stars at the Abbey Theatre

2026 marks the 100th Anniversary of the inaugural performance of Sean 0’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars at the Abbey Theatre. The world premiere of The Plough and the Stars by Sean O’Casey took place at the Abbey Theatre in 1926, less than ten years after the Easter Rising of 1916. At its fourth performance, the Abbey Company was met by an unruly audience who protested against what they believed was a grotesque distortion of historical events slandering those who had died for Ireland. The riot featured a coordinated appearance by the widows and bereaved women of 1916. W.B. Yeats rose to praise the new play, addressing the audience saying “You have disgraced yourselves again. Is this to be an ever recurring celebration of the arrival of Irish genius?” This was Sean O’Casey’s fifth play to premiere at the Abbey Theatre. Flawlessly weaving comedy with tragedy, the play is the story of ordinary lives ripped apart by the idealism of the time. Having as its backdrop a revolution that would shape the country’s future, O’Casey’s lovable and real characters highlight the abject poverty of Dublin’s working classes and their struggles to survive. This O’Casey masterpiece is a classic of human and political theatre which resonates through time.