SOURCE: Fay, W. G. “How We Began the Abbey.” In The Abbey Theatre: Interviews and Recollections, edited by E. H. Mikhail, pp. 15-8. London, United Kingdom: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1988.

In the following essay, originally published in 1947, Fay, one of the original actors at the Abbey Theatre along with his brother, Frank Fay, provides his personal impressions of the founding of the Abbey Theatre.

When Seumas O'Sullivan saw at the Antient Concert Rooms, Dublin, the first performance of W. B. Yeats' verse play, The Countess Cathleen, amongst the audience was James Joyce. What neither of them was aware of, as they watched the performance of The Countess Cathleen, was that it was to be responsible for the formation of the Irish Players and the founding of the Abbey Theatre.

Appreciation of poetry was not one of my best points at that time, but my brother Frank insisted that for...