1984

Famine
- The first of many collaborations between Druid and Tom Murphy
- 'yet another memorable triumph' The Irish Press

On the Outside
- Written by Tom Murphy with Noel O'Donoghue

1985

Conversations on a Homecoming
- World Premiere
- A radical reworking of The White House which had premiered at the Abbey Theatre in 1972
- ‘the best theatre company in the land…Druid triumph yet again…a magic night of theatre, a thundering segment of true life’ The Irish Press
- 'works like a dream and its freshness and sharpness and canny humour are a pure delight’ New Galway Observer
- WINNER Irish Theatre Awards, Best Director (Garry Hynes)
- WINNER Irish Theatre Awards, Best Supporting Actor (Ray McBride)

Bailegangaire
- World Premiere
- ‘a remarkable play … a superb production … a stunning performance from Siobhán McKenna … Mullen and McEvoy are superb’ Irish Independent
- ‘fierce integrity and strength in Garry Hynes’ production … the outstanding theatrical experience of 1985’ The Irish Press
- ‘Siobhán McKenna is just extraordinary … this establishes Murphy as the most exciting writer in modern Irish Theatre’ Sunday Independent
- WINNER Irish Theatre Awards, Best Actress (Siobhan McKenna) posthumous
- WINNER Irish Theatre Awards, Best Play (Tom Murphy)

1986

Conversations on a Homecoming
- A tour of Ireland and Druid's first international tour to the US for a run at Pepsico Summerfare in New York

1987

A Whistle in the Dark
- Produced in association with the Abbey Theatre
- ‘a brilliant production!’ Financial Times
- ‘Even if you have seen it already, it’s worth seeing again’ Tuam Herald

Conversations on a Homecoming
- Performances in Galway, Sydney and a tour of Irish prisons
- ‘Conversations works like a dream and its freshness and sharpness and uncanny humour are a pure delight’ The Observer
- ‘flawlessly directed’ The Sun Herald
- ‘well nigh flawlessly acted and directed’ Variety

1995

The Blue Macushla
- ‘in Druid’s confident hands, it translates into a tight and good-humoured evening’s fare’ The Sunday Times
- ‘a rare and enjoyable mixture of escapist fun, gleeful excess and arch humour’ The Tribune Magazine
- ‘the usual excellent Druid standard’ The Connacht Sentinel

2009

The Gigli Concert
- Druid's first production staged in their newly refurbished 'Druid Lane Theatre' in July 2009
- ‘Druid’s production … is a celebration of theatre’ The Irish Times

2012

DruidMurphy
- A play cycle of three Murphy plays: Conversations on a Homecoming, A Whistle in the Dark, Famine
- Performances in Galway, Dublin, the Aran Islands, London, Oxford, New York and Washington DC
- ‘As always with this remarkable company, the acting is of a quality to leave you dumbstruck with admiration’ The New York Times
- ‘Druid remind you that no one has articulated the legacy of dispossession as eloquently or unflinchingly as Murphy … a staggering achievement’ The Irish Times
- ‘Garry Hynes directs with wisdom and feeling … Murphy is, I suspect, the greatest dramatist writing in English’ Financial Times
- ‘staged by Hynes with a breath-taking poetic realism … I emerged astonished both by Murphy’s historical awareness and Druid’s ensemble vigour’ The Guardian
- ‘It is a privilege to watch theatre of such indelible quality … a remarkable theatrical achievement’ Irish Independent
- ‘a fantastic tear-sodden blast of the very best in Irish theatre … Garry Hynes leads her Galway-based Druid company in triumph and despair’ What’s On Stage

2013

DruidMurphy
- Irish national tour of Conversations on a Homecoming and A Whistle in the Dark

2014

Brigit and Bailegangaire double-bill
- World premiere of Brigit
- ‘A major play from a major Irish playwright, Bailegangaire is as complex and haunting as one of Yeats’ later poems.… Here is a potent allegory – of the need to exorcise the past and its myths if one is to be happy in the future’ The Sunday Telegraph

2020

The Cherry Orchard
- Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard in a version by Tom Murphy
- In a first for Irish theatre, the production was broadcast live from Galway to cinemas across Ireland and the UK
- ‘pungent and urgent’ The Guardian
- ‘bleakly magnificent’ Sunday Independent
- ‘Hynes directs with supreme control’ Irish Independent

On the Outside
- Written with Noel O'Donoghue
- Murphy's play was performed as part of DruidGregory, Druid's rural tour of plays by Lady Gregory

2024

The House
- A major new production of Murphy's 2000 play with performances in Galway at the Town Hall Theatre and in Dublin at the Gaiety Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival

Tom Murphy (1935 – 2018)

Tom Murphy was born in Tuam, Co. Galway. He died in Dublin, May 2018.

His plays include On the Outside (with Noel O’Donoghue), A Whistle in the Dark, A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer’s Assistant, Famine, The Morning After Optimism, On the Inside, The Sanctuary Lamp, Epitaph Under Ether (a compilation from the works of J.M. Synge), The Blue Macushla, The Informer (from the novel by Liam O’Flaherty), Conversations on a Homecoming, The Gigli Concert, Bailegangaire, A Thief of a Christmas, Too Late for Logic, The Patriot Game, She Stoops to Folly (from The Vicar of Wakefield), The Wake, The House, The Drunkard, The Cherry Orchard (a version), Alice Trilogy, and The Last Days of a Reluctant Tyrant. His last play, Brigit, was produced by Druid in 2014. Tom wrote one novel, The Seduction of Morality, published in 1994.

In 2001, the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre, presented a six-play season in celebration of his work, entitled Tom Murphy at the Abbey.

In 2012, Druid produced DruidMurphy – a play cycle consisting of A Whistle in the Dark, Conversations on a Homecoming and Famine – which was performed to great acclaim across Ireland, the UK and the US. DruidMurphy received several awards, including Best Production at the Irish Theatre Awards 2012. In the same year, the Abbey Theatre produced The House, which also won multiple awards at the Irish Theatre Awards.

Tom Murphy was a multi-award winning playwright whose plays are performed throughout the world. The Gigli Concert, Bailegangaire, The House and Alice Trilogy all won Best Play at the Irish Theatre Awards. Other awards include the inaugural Irish Times/ESB Lifetime Achievement Award and the Irish Academy of Letters Award. He held honorary doctorates from Trinity College Dublin and the NUI Galway. In 2013, he was awarded the Ulysses Medal, the highest honour bestowed by University College Dublin. In 2017, President Michael D Higgins presented Tom Murphy with the gold torc and the title of ‘Saoi’, Aosdána’s highest honour.

Tom Murphy’s plays are published under the Methuen imprint by Bloomsbury Publishing. Tom Murphy Literary Trust is represented by Alexandra Cann Representation (alex@alexandracann.co.uk).