The Shadow of a Gunman
play by Seán O'Casey
The Shadow of a Gunman is a 1923 tragicomedy play by Seán O'Casey set during the Irish War of Independence. It centres on the mistaken identity of a building tenant who is thought to be an IRA assassin.
It is the first in O'Casey's "Dublin Trilogy" - the other two being Juno and the Paycock (1924) and The Plough and the Stars (1926).
Setting
Dublin. May 1920. Each act takes place in Seumus Shield's room in a tenement in Hilljoy Square.
Synopsis
Donal Davoren is a poet who has come to room with Seumus Shields in a poor, Dublin tenement slum. Many of the residents of the tenement mistake Donal for an IRA gunman on the run. Donal does not refute this notoriety, especially when it wins him the affection of Minnie Powell, an attractive young woman in the tenement. Meanwhile, Seumus' business partner, Mr Maguire drops a bag off at Seumus' apartment before participating in an ambush in which he is killed.
The public source identifies “The Shadow of a Gunman” as play by Seán O'Casey. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Shadow, Gunman and play.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Shadow of a Gunman”, the useful work is to connect “play by Seán O'Casey” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7763577. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1920.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Shadow of a Gunman”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Shadow of a Gunman primary sources, The Shadow of a Gunman archive and Shadow research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Shadow of a Gunman”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Shadow of a Gunman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.