THE HOMECOMING OF JOSEPH GRACE
A new play by Deirdre Kinahan

A man sits by a body of water.
His once good suit hangs loosely now on his bones.
It is dawn.

The early boat he has travelled on has just docked and his fellow bleary eyed passengers disembark, swarming towards the city. In this near empty place he sits, unwilling or unable to set proper foot on Irish Soil.

Not just a play of what was, or what is, The Homecoming of Joseph Grace by Deirdre Kinahan is a tender, disarming and unexpected new drama. Wrapped in longing and separation, this is a meticulous and devastatingly vivid portrayal of a life lived in extraordinary circumstance. As we sit with Joseph in an Irish ferry terminal, we sit with every refugee and every citizen of the world who is forced to flee in search of peace, happiness, love, home.

Acclaimed playwright Deirdre Kinahan (The Saviour 2022, Tempesta 2024, Songs and Souls 2025) reunites with leading theatre director Louise Lowe to explore the city’s cultural history as a port and place of departure in creating an evocation of place, memory and mind.

Funded by the Arts Council and Meath County Council. Supported by Dublin Port.

Written by
Deirdre Kinahan

Directed by
Louise Lowe

Performed by
Michael Glenn Murphy

Presented by
Once Off Productions and Cork Midsummer Festival, in association with Pavillion Theatre

UPCOMING PERFORMANCE DATES
Click on performance dates for tickets

12 - 20 June 2026 at the Event Room, Marina Market, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival

16 - 19 July at Pavillion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire

AVAILABLE TO TOUR

For touring details contact producer Kathleen Aleton at kathleen@onceoffproductions.com

Set Designer
Owen Boss

Costume Designer
Joan O’Clery

Lighting Designer
Ciaran Bagnall

Sound Designer
Carl Kennedy

Producer
Maura O’Keeffe and Kathleen Aleton