James Joyce
During the coming weeks BBC Radio 4 will broadcast James Joyce’s collected short stories Dubliners in 20 episodes, read by the actor Stephen Rea. For me The Dead has one of the most beautiful finales of any story.
John Huston
In 1987 the great American director John Huston adapted The Dead for the screen. It was to be his last film. He directed most of it from a wheelchair, as he needed an oxygen tank to breathe during the last few months of his life. It is a gem of a film made with real love and understanding of the Irish. Sadly, Huston died 4 months before the film was released.
Donal McCann
This is the last, beautifully touching scene from Huston’s film, sensitively played by the late Irish actor Donal McCann.