The Plough and the Stars - Sean O'Casey

I am beyond delighted to have given Sean O’Casey his Spanish voice. And I did so by translating a true treasure of Irish literature —The Plough and the Stars (“El arado y las estrellas”), released by publisher Ybernia in November 2025.

 

It all started about 10 years ago in Dublin, when my drama ensemble Firedoor Theatre was invited to read a few excerpts of Three Dublin Plays at the Sean O’Casey Theatre festival, held every September in the remarkable, soulful, and picturesque neighbourhood of East Wall.

 

As I confronted the classic for the first time, trying to make sense of those enigmatic phonetics and the colourful expressions characteristic of the Dublin speech, I fell in love with its rhythm, its poetry, its charming characters, and the beguiling depiction of a nation fighting for its freedom… at a very high price. And when I learnt that it had never been published in Spanish, I was on a mission.

 

Back then, I could hardly imagine that my translation would see the light one day, let alone with such resonance. Here are some media outlets were it has been featured:

• RTE Radio.
• Spain National Radio.
• The December issue of The Final Draft (page 4).
• The Madrid Metropolitan, and the International Reporter online newspapers.

Here are images of the staged reading I did at the book launch in bookshop Tipos Infames in Madrid, and of the readings at the Irish Ambassador’s House. As a next step, I’m looking to stage the full play. If you are involved in the Madrid theatre scene of have contacts in the industry, I would love to hear from you. Let’s keep on the dreamworks burning.