Bringing James Joyce’s first novel from page to stage

Arthur Riordan found uncanny parallels with his own life in Fermoy while adapting Joyce’s first novel for the theatre, writes Marjorie Brennan

James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is full of memorable scenes, but one in particular encapsulates the preoccupations and class snobbery of Simon Dedalus, father of the central character, Stephen.