Janey Mary - Crew - Story by

Story by
James Plunkett

James Plunkett Kelly was born on 21 May 1920, at Sandymount in Dublin. He was educated at the Synge Street Christian Brothers School, and the Municipal School of Music, Camden St., Dublin, playing violin and viola. He became clerk in Dublin Gas Co., 1937, and later a full-time trade union official; working under Jim Larkin, April 1946-47, who later featured as a character in "Strumpet City".

In the mid-1950s he joined Radio Éireann as a drama assistant and began his literary career with a series of radio plays. In 1961 he was appointed one of the first two directors when the television service began, some becoming an Executive Producer.

His is probably best known as author of the novel "Strumpet City" (1980), first published in 1969. Its television adaptation by RTÉ, starring Peter O'Toole and Cyril Cusack and featuring Peter Ustinov, directed by Tony Barry (1980), became one of the station's most successful drama productions.

During the 1960s, Plunkett worked as a producer at Telefís Éireann. He won two Jacob's Awards, in 1965 and 1969, for his TV productions.

His work includes the short story collection The Trusting and the Maimed. (Contains Janey Mary)

Among his other novels were Farewell Companions and The Circus Animals.
His essays included The Gems She Wore and The Boy on the Back Wall.

He also wrote a stage play, The Risen People (based on the earlier radio drama Big Jim), which was premiered at the Abbey Theatre in 1958, and performed later in London and Belfast.

James died Dublin 28 May 2003.

Credits - Writer/ Playwright

Radio Plays