Fr John Barry, after being wronged by his bishop, and denied work as a priest, spent years going in and out of the workhouses of Tipperary, before dying in Cashel workhouse in 1920. He was harshly critical of the workhouse system.
This play is based on the book published about Fr Barry by the late Martin Bob O’Dwyer in 2012, which is based on Fr Barry’s own writings about the workhouse system and also details his conflict with Archbishop Croke.
The play imagines Fr Barry’s meeting with the Workhouse Master on his initial admission to Cashel Workhouse in September 1906.
