Theatre review - Thomas Kent 1916 Rebel at the Everyman, Cork

3/5

This new play by Ferghal Dineen and Eoin Ó hAnnaracháin is about Thomas Kent and his prominent nationalist family who lived in Castlelyons, Co Cork. Thomas, who was to become the only man outside of Dublin to be executed on Irish soil in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising, has two lives. In Boston, there’s his publishing company, his activities to revive the Irish language and a blossoming relationship with a young woman.

While all that sounds alluring, Thomas, on his visits home, has to make a hard decision. Neighbours and relatives are being evicted from their homes by rack-renting absentee landlords. In one month, 83 families in the area were evicted. Thomas, who has a strong moral compass exemplified in his teetotalism and his religious faith as well as his intolerance of injustice, decides to stay in Castlelyons.