{{short description|Irish playwright}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Joe Crilly | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = 1962 | birth_place = | death_date = {{death year and age|2017|1962}} | death_place = Perpignan, France | other_names = | occupation = Playwright | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''Joseph Crilly''' (1962–2017) was an Irish playwright. Hailing from Derrymacash in County Armagh, he lived for more than three decades in London, where he variously worked as an actor, journalist and social worker. He was arts editor of the ''Irish Post'' in the 1990s.
He is best known for his trilogy of plays on Ulster: ''Second-Hand Thunder'' (1998), its companion piece ''On McQuillan's Hill'' (2000) and ''Kitty & Damnation'' (2009). The three have been published together as ''The Crilly Trilogy''. ''On McQuillan's Hill'', which was originally staged at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast was revived at the Finborough Theatre in 2020, directed by Jonathan Harden. The production received critical acclaim, including five stars from the Morning Star and four stars from The Stage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/c/mcquillans-hill-finborough-theatre-london|title=On McQuillan's Hill Review|website=Morning Star Online|date=12 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2020/on-mcquillans-hill-review-at-finborough-theatre-london-burns-with-authenticity/|title=On McQuillan's Hill Review|website=The Stage}}{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The Finborough production was an English premiere, and marked the twentieth anniversary of the play's Belfast debut. Following strong reviews, the four week run sold out.
In May 2017, Crilly killed himself in a hotel room in Perpignan.<ref>[https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2018/11/01/news/new-collection-celebrates-late-co-armagh-playwright-joe-crilly-1473261/ Irish News]</ref><ref>[https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/late-playwright-joe-crilly-remembered-critically-acclaimed-play-returns-stage-178121 Irish Post]</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crilly, Joe}} Category:Male dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Category:1962 births Category:2017 deaths Category:20th-century dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Category:21st-century dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Category:20th-century male writers from Northern Ireland Category:21st-century male writers from Northern Ireland Category:Writers from County Armagh Category:Suicides in France