An Irish author, teacher, and playwright from Northern Ireland, Bernard Patrick Friel (born 1929) was noted for the powerfully realistic renditions of Irish life and culture found in his plays.

Bernard (Brian) Patrick Friel was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, to Patrick and Christina (Macloone) Friel. He moved to the city of Londonderry when he was ten, attended St. Columb's College there (1941-1946), and subsequently received his B.A. degree from St. Patrick's (theological) College in Maynooth. Instead of opting for a career in the Catholic priesthood, Friel entered the teaching profession. He graduated St. Joseph's Teacher Training School in Belfast in 1950.

His teaching career of ten years ended when he turned to full-time writing in 1960. That year the New Yorker had found a valuable resource in Friel. He could satisfy the appetite for "Irishness" that that publication's readers craved.

Friel, aside from his short stories, wrote two radio...