Politics and Prose Bookstore, the Embassy of Ireland, Solas Nua, and Global Irish Studies at Georgetown University present:
Dublin Voices: Gabriel Byrne
This event took place on
Sunday, January 19 • 6 PM ET / 11 PM GMT
This event was streamed online as part of the Politics & Prose Live! Series.
This program is part of our "Dublin Voices" series, a collaboration between Politics and Prose Bookstore, the Embassy of Ireland, Solas Nua and Global Irish Studies at Georgetown University.
As a young boy growing up in the outskirts of Dublin, Gabriel Byrne sought refuge in a world of imagination among the fields and hills near his home, at the edge of a rapidly encroaching city. He reveled in the theatre and poetry of Dublin's streets, populated by characters as eccentric and remarkable as any in fiction, those who spin a yarn with acuity and wit. It was a friend who suggested Byrne join an amateur drama group, a decision that would change his life forever and launch him on an extraordinary forty-year career in film and theatre.
Moving between sensual recollection of childhood in a now almost vanished Ireland and reflections on stardom in Hollywood and Broadway, Byrne also courageously recounts his battle with addiction and the ambivalence of fame. Walking with Ghosts is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking as well as a lyrical homage to the people and landscapes that ultimately shape our destinies.
