Seumas O'Kelly

Who was Seumas O'Kelly?

Seumas O'Kelly was an Irish writer and playwright.

Born in Loughrea, County Galway, O'Kelly was educated locally and began his career as a journalist with the Cork newspaper The Southern Star. He moved from the Southern Star to the Leinster Leader in Naas where he remained as Editor until he went to work for Griffith's paper. His more militant brother took over at the paper and was interned after the Rising. Seumas returned to the Leader for a brief stint. There is a plaque in his honour outside the Leader's offices which reads 'Seumas O'Kelly - a gentle revolutionary'. He wrote numerous plays, short stories, and novels. His short story "The Weaver’s Grave" is among the most acclaimed of Irish short stories. A radio version of this, adapted and produced by Mícheál Ó hAodha, won the Prix Italia for Radio Drama in 1961.

A friend of Arthur Griffith, he worked with the Sinn Féin newspaper Nationality in 1916. He died prematurely of a heart attack following a raid at the paper’s headquarters at Harcourt St.