“Shadow of a Gunman” by Sean O’Casey is a gripping drama set in 1920s Dublin during the Irish War of Independence. The play follows the story of Donal Davoren, a poet mistaken for an IRA gunman, his roommate Seumas Shields and others living in a Dublin tenement as the city is put under curfew culminating in a raid by British auxiliaries. The play explores the themes of identity, heroism, and the harsh realities of conflict, set against the backdrop of a turbulent historical period.

Cast:

• Donal Davoren (Dan)- a poet living with Seumus in the tenement. Some of the residents suspect he has an affiliation with the IRA.

• Seumus Shields – a lazy pedlar of about thirty five disillusioned over the nationalist cause he supports who wishes the conflict will end.

• Tommy Owens – a younger man of twenty five that is enamored with the Republican effort.

• Adolphus Grigson (Dolphie)- an alcoholic resident of the tenement; a self-proclaimed “Orangeman”, Grigson’s Protestantism exemplified by his Bible and his picture of King William triumphant at the Battle of the Boyne hanging on the wall doesn’t exempt him from being harassed by the Black and Tans.

• Mrs Debby Grigson – Adolphus’s wife • Minnie Powell – a woman of twenty three that fawns over Davoran by virtue of his supposed IRA connections; she is sardonically equated to Kathleen Ni Houlihan, the symbol of Irish nationalism.

• Mr Mulligan – the landlord of the tenement.

• Mr Maguire – an IRA volunteer and friend of Seumus.

• Mrs Julia Henderson – a resident of a neighboring tenement and a champion of Mr Gallogher’s plea. • Mr James Gallogher – a resident of a neighboring tenement seeking the IRA’s help.

• An Auxiliary – a soldier of the Auxiliary Division