James
Plunkett
a tribute
by Tony Hickey
With
the passing of James Plunkett we have lost a man whose talent and humanity
involved him in so many aspects of Irish life that it seems almost incredible
that he should have been so effective in so many areas.
A socialist, a trade union official and organiser, a producer
of TV and radio programmes, and, above all to many people, a novelist,
a short story writer and a playwright whose work has moved many people
to reconsider their attitudes to the working classes and, in particular,
to those living in the deprived areas of Dublin.
‘Strumpet City’, his great novel of life in Dublin and in,
as it then was, Kingstown, during the general strike is a work to place
side by side with Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ and yet the two
books could not be more different in structure, style or intent.
But surely that difference is one to be cherished rather than
to be seen as a source of conflict. It is a difference that gives us
two great literary monuments to our capital city.
I have very particular, personal reasons to cherish ‘Strumpet
City.’ In the 1970s I was asked by RTE to dramatise it in six
one-hour episodes for radio. To work on a book of this length in this
way was to embark on a journey of discovery into the subtleties of the
construction and the extraordinary way in which James Plunkett combined
the immediacy of drama with the panorama of history.
The Radio Eireann Rep. was still in existence in those days. They
and the whole drama department made the story, with its contrasting
voices and backgrounds, come vividly to life.
An indication of the enormous affection in which James Plunkett
was held was further indicated, in October 2000, when he agreed to allow
the Irish Writers’ Union to host a tribute to him in the James
Joyce Centre in North Great George’s Street.
I was Chairperson of the Union at the time and so I had the honour
of introducing the speakers, Peter Cassells, Pat Boran, Eilis Ni Duibhne,
Theo Dorgan and Tony Barry, the producer of the TV ‘Strumpet City.’
The event was sold out almost as soon as it was announced. People were
turned away at the door.
The speakers, all of who had responded instantly and with great joy
to the invitation to speak at the event, crystallised in their different
ways the enormous influence of this, now frail, man had upon them as
writers and human beings.
James response was typical of the man as he questioned if he had deserved
such tributes. The response of the audience left him in no doubt as
to the correct answer to this question.
He continued to amuse and enlighten us with tales of the past, including
a visit from the Special Branch to investigate his possibly subversive
activities.
Of course
he was subversive but not in the way that the Special Branch meant.
He was subversive because through his literary achievement he held up
the mirror of truth to strata of life that many people would have felt
more comfortable to ignore.
Members of the Plunkett family were present that night and shared the
great pleasure it gave the Writers’ Union to host such an event
and to make James an honorary life member of the union.
After the speeches James sat in the upstairs drawing room and talked
to his friends and admirers with graciousness and humility that endeared
him to everyone.
One man remarked how appropriate it was that the tribute should take
place in the James Joyce Centre.
We offer our deepest sympathy to the Plunkett family.
His legacy is safe in their love and affection as it is among the hundreds
of thousands of those to whom he means so much.
James Plunkett was predeceased by his wife, Valerie, and their daughter
Valerie; he is survived by his sons, Ross, James and Vadim.
He was born on 21 May 1920; and died 27 May 2003.
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