The Arts Council has expressed its regret at the passing of playwright, poet and Aosdána member Aodhán Madden.
Speaking today, Sheila Pratschke, Chair of the Arts Council said, “Aodhán Madden was a significant writer who made a singular contribution to playwriting, in particular through a prolific period in the 1980s. His work was rooted in his own everyday experiences in journalism and teaching, but had a poetic and lyrical quality, full of humanity and warmth. His plays were seen regularly at the Peacock Theatre among others, and he earned the respect and admiration of all of his professional collaborators.”
Aodhán was a playwright, short story writer and poet. He worked for many years as a journalist and critic with the Irish Press before taking up writing for a variety of media, including print, stage, radio and screen. His work had been produced by the National Theatre and by many of Dublin leading producers. His first play ‘The Midnight Door’ in the Peacock Theatre in 1983 starred Ray McNally, David Kelly and Marie Kean. ‘The Dosshouse Waltz’ (1985), ‘Private Death of a Queen’ (1986) and ‘Sea Urchins’ (1998) are just some other of his stage plays. His screenplays include’ Night Train’ (1998) directed by John Lynch, which starred John Hurt and Brenda Blethyn. Madden was twice awarded the Oz Whitehead Award for drama for Remember Mauritania and in 1985 for Private Death of a Queen. In 1985 he won the Herald Tribune Award for Best Play in the Dublin Theatre Festival of that year for Dosshouse Waltz. His memoir Fear and Loathing in Dublin was published in 2009.
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