A Quarter of Broken Biscuits

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Written by Eamon Somers, produced and directed by Berni Dwan, with audio production by Declan McGlade, A Quarter of Broken Biscuits captures a snapshot of life in Dublin’s Liberties in the 1960s. With the main action emanating from a local grocery shop, the characters grapple with two main issues – the age-old housing crisis, and the nascent realization that homosexuality does indeed exist. The backdrop of emigration and displacement adds a sense of urgency to these questions of social justice in a modest and homogenous Irish community.

A Quarter of Broken Biscuits cast. Back row. Left to right. David Gaffney (Seamus), Jimmy O’Connell (Brian McAllen), Melanie O’Beirne (Mrs Byrne), Eamon Somers (Writer), Mary McNamara (Kitty McAllen), Alan O’Brien (Mr Russell).
Front row. Left to right. Adrianne Murphy (Josie), Geraldine Callaghan (Brian McAllen’s Mother), Tara Power (Mrs Higgins), Berni Dwan (Producer / Director).

The author of A Quarter of Broken Biscuits, Eamon Somers, is a gay man who grew up in the Liberties, in a shop run by his parents. Eamon is perfectly placed to recall a way of life that has all but disappeared from Dublin’s inner-city neighbourhoods, as well as capturing the challenges of being a young gay man in this time and place.

Made with the support of Coimisiún na Meán’s Sound and Vision scheme through the Television License Fee.