The Field (play)


The Field is a play written by John B. Keane, first performed in 1965. It tells the story of the hardened Irish farmer "Bull" McCabe and his love for the land he rents. The play debuted at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in 1965, with Ray McAnally as "The Bull" and Eamon Keane as "The Bird" O'Donnell. The play was published in 1966 by Mercier Press. A new version with some changes was produced in 1987.
A film adaptation was released in 1990, directed by Jim Sheridan with Richard Harris in the lead role.
John B. Keane based the story on the 1959 murder of Moss Moore, a bachelor farmer living in Reamore, County Kerry. Dan Foley, a neighbour with whom Moore had a long-running dispute, was suspected of the murder, but the charges were denied by Foley's family.

Plot

The Field is set in a small country village in southwest Ireland.
Rugged individualist Bull McCabe has spent five hard years of labour cultivating a small plot of rented land, nurturing it from barren rock into a fertile field. When the owner of the field decides to auction it, he believes that he has a claim to the land. The McCabes intimidate most of the townspeople out of bidding in the auction, to the chagrin of auctioneer Mick Flanagan, but Galwayman William Dee arrives from England, where he has lived for many years, with a plan to cover the field with concrete and extract gravel from the adjacent river. An encounter between William and the McCabes ends in William's death and a cover-up.

Characters

Jim Sheridan directed a film version in 1990. Richard Harris received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal.
Most characters in the film were different from the play but the film only retained The Bull, The Bird and Tadhg. Some events in the play were also changed in the film.