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| Brian Friel: Famed playwright dies aged 86 | Brian Friel: Famed playwright dies aged 86 |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Acclaimed Irish playwright Brian Friel has died aged 86 after a long illness. | Acclaimed Irish playwright Brian Friel has died aged 86 after a long illness. |
| Friel is best known for plays such as Translations, Dancing at Lughnasa and Philadelphia, Here I Come. | Friel is best known for plays such as Translations, Dancing at Lughnasa and Philadelphia, Here I Come. |
| He was born in Killyclogher, County Tyrone in 1929. He worked as a teacher in Londonderry before moving to County Donegal in the 1960s. | |
| In 1992, Friel won three Tony Awards for Dancing at Lughnasa. The play was later made into a film starring Meryl Streep. | |
| Obituary: Brian Friel | |
| Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny said the world had "lost one of the giants of the theatre". | |
| "The consummate Irish storyteller, his work spoke to each of us with humour, emotion and authenticity," he said. | |
| Shiela Pratschke, chairwoman of Ireland's Arts Council, said Friel had earned himself recognition among the world's greatest playwrights. | Shiela Pratschke, chairwoman of Ireland's Arts Council, said Friel had earned himself recognition among the world's greatest playwrights. |
| "The Irish theatre and arts world generally is devastated by this sad, sad loss," she said. | "The Irish theatre and arts world generally is devastated by this sad, sad loss," she said. |
| "Brian was an inspiration to Irish playwrights, actors, directors and theatre makers. | "Brian was an inspiration to Irish playwrights, actors, directors and theatre makers. |
| 'Renowned' | |
| "It is the mark of the man and his achievement as a writer that his work is conjured by use of his surname only." | "It is the mark of the man and his achievement as a writer that his work is conjured by use of his surname only." |
| Irish Arts Minister Heather Humphreys said he was one of the country's "truly great playwrights" and a household name "on the international stage as well". | |
| "He was renowned on Broadway, where many of his plays ran to great acclaim. Through his writing he brought Ireland, and particularly Donegal, to the world," she said. | |
| Friel was born on either 9 or 10 January 1929, with the precise date never being confirmed. | |
| He began writing while working as a teacher in Derry. In 1954, A Sort of Freedom - his first play - was broadcast by the BBC. | |
| In the same year, he married Anne Morrison and the couple had five children: Mary, Paddy, Judy, Sally and David. | |
| His major breakthrough came ten years later when Philadelphia, Here I Come was performed on Broadway. | |
| In 1980, he co-founded the Field Day Theatre Company with actor Stephen Rea - their work became known as an artistic response to the violence and politics that divided Northern Ireland at that time. | |
| Previously, Rea had described the writer as being "completely in tune with Irish audiences". | |
| "There is something innate in the plays where he speaks very directly to an Irish audience and we found the audience for him." |