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1911 - 1995
Joseph Tomelty was a playwright, novelist and actor. Born in Portaferry, Co Down, he left school at 12 to be apprenticed to his father’s trade as a house painter, then moved to Belfast to work as a painter in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. He was a founding member of the Belfast Group Theatre in the 1940s and was general manager from 1942-51. His plays include: The End House (1944), on a theme of urban violence; All Souls' Night (1948), and Is the Priest at Home? (1954). He published two novels, Red Is the Port Light (1948) and The Apprentice (1953). He wrote and acted in The McCooeys, a BBC radio serial that ran weekly from 1948 to 1954.
Premiered 11 Oct 1988
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