"Having the twins brought us in very close to the community around that district, Patty Duffy in her shop, the ladies that sold fruit and veg in Moore Street, the kids that went up the street on the backs of the cars for the fun of it. Our bedroom was in the basement at the front, and in the nights people came down into the basement area for all sorts of reasons, thinking maybe it was a deserted sort of place. We heard scenes of violence and of love".

Barry was there to witness the heroin epidemic on the streets of Dublin, "I grew up myself in Monkstown in the 60s and early 70s, at a time when the first heroin epidemic swept through Dun Laoghaire. Now in the 90s the same thing was happening, you could see the young men and women strung out on heroin in the streets. But there were also lots of couples etc just getting on with life. And kids milling about".

"It was there I was told by a social worker that the women's shelters would be full after an Irish international soccer match. Some fellas would come home and beat their wives. It was a great mystery, a great sadness. All that began to get into the play. In some respects it's a record of our time there in that part of Dublin, and really a homage to it. It's in praise of it, all in all.For what it gives us me and Ali".

The calibre of acting from Karl Shiels who plays Joe and Mary Murray who plays Janet defiantly gave the play that special spark it needed. "Karl is from Chapelizod and Mary from Ballyfermot, so they know the language and the landscape intimately, it was a huge privilege to work with them, for them. It was also just extremely enjoyable. That's the way to have it, and of course it isn't always so", says Barry.

On the play's opening night in Dublin, Barry admits to being a nervous wreck in anticipation of the reaction of the Dublin audience, the audience that really mattered to him. However he needn't have been with the play receiving standing ovations almost every night of its run during the Dublin Theatre Festival. Barry was heartened by the response from the people of Dublin particularly those who were the inspiration for his play.

"Unknown to me till the last moment, RTÉ had three people from Parnell St in to see the play. One of them by mere chance was Patty Duffy, the great woman that runs the shop there. So I had to hurry into town, and just reached her before the play began, to tell her not to have a heart attack when she heard her name mentioned in the play. She was really nice about it. It was an enormous pleasure to hear them talk warmly about the play later on TV", admits the playwright.

"Another friend who has worked as a social worker in the area, to whom the play is dedicated, said she was very moved to hear the normally voiceless given a voice, but I don't know if I was responsible for that. Somehow the spirit of Parnell St crept into the play, authored it in fact. A priest who had looked after some of the people from Parnell St after the bombing there in 1974 was also in touch, thanking me. I was deeply moved by all that as you can imagine", says Barry.

The Pride of Parnell Street will play at the Cork Opera House from Monday, April 28 to Saturday, May 3 at 8pm. Tickets start from €22.50.

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