Brian Friel, Playwright Poet Of The Irish Soul, Dies At 86
A writer whose fictional town of Ballybeg gave deep, resonant voice to generations of ordinary people living through times of deprivation, occupation and transformation, Friel died on Friday at home in Greencastle, County Donegal, Ireland. Typically hypnotic in their use of language, Friel’s plays were catnip to a long roster of stage and film stars. Among his best-known works, Philadelphia, Here I Come! and…