As Brian Friel (1929-2015) drafted his plays, a cascade of notes emerged from his writing desk – from urgent scrawls to quiet musings. Over time, these turned into page upon diligent page of typescript drafts, not a line of which escaped his incisive correcting pen on the way to their final form.

Within the Friel Papers at the National Library of Ireland, and now on the Brian Friel Digital Archive hosted by Queen’s University and JSTOR, we are given access to the voluminous output of a master of his craft. This exhibition introduces a selection of Friel's rich archive - exploring significant moments of creative transformation as the dramatist developed five iconic works across four decades: Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964), The Freedom of the City (1973), Faith Healer (1979), Translations (1980) and Dancing at Lughnasa (1990).

Newly commissioned essays by international Friel scholars provide insight into Friel's creative process, and imaginative illustrations by emerging and established artists feature alongside a range of publications on Friel drawn from the University's Special Collections.

Dates and times

QUB Staff and Students: Free admission during Library opening hours

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This exhibition is part of the Friel Reimagined Project at Queen’s University Belfast, produced in partnership with JSTOR and the National Library of Ireland, and with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Steel Charitable Trust. The original archival papers presented in the exhibition are held at the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin; they are copyright of the Brian Friel Estate and reproduced with kind permission.