These watercolours were painted by Seán O’Casey, for a German production of his play, The Plough and the Stars.

O’Casey was a working-class, Dublin Protestant who had been a member of the socialist Irish Citizen Army.

The Plough and the Stars was first performed in February 1926, and reflects O’Casey’s disillusionment with violent nationalism. It offers an angry critique of the Easter Rising, in which the rebels’ rhetoric of blood sacrifice is contrasted with the struggles and despair of the working poor.

These watercolours are held in our Benjamin Iveagh collection at Farmleigh House. 

Images are reproduced by kind permission of the estate of Seán O’Casey

Citation:
Costumes for 'The Plough and the Stars',
Marsh's Library Exhibits: ‘Changed Utterly?’ curated by Elaine Doyle and Jason McElligott,
accessed July 6, 2025,
https://web.marshlibrary.ie/digi/exhibits/show/irishrevolution/item/639