The Homecoming Of Joseph Grace

A man sits by a body of water. His once good suit hangs loosely now on his bones. It is dawn. The early boat he has travelled on has just docked and his fellow bleary eyed passengers disembark, swarming towards the city. In this near empty place he sits, unwilling or unable to set proper foot on Irish soil.

Not just a play of what was, or what is, and wrapped in longing and separation, this is a meticulous and devastatingly vivid portrayal of a life lived in extraordinary circumstances.

As we sit with Joseph in an Irish ferry terminal, we sit with every refugee and every citizen of the world who is forced to flee in search of peace, happiness, love, home.

Festival favourite Deirdre Kinahan (The Saviour, 2022; Tempesta, 2024; Songs and Souls, 2025) reunites with leading theatre director Louise Lowe to explore the city’s cultural history as a port and place of departure in creating an evocation of place, memory and mind.

Funded by the Arts Council and Meath County Council
Supported by Dublin Port

Written by Deirdre Kinahan
Directed by Louise Lowe 
Performed by Michael Glenn Murphy 
Set Design by Owen Boss
Costume Design by Joan O’Clery 
Lighting Design by Ciaran Bagnall 
Sound Design by Carl Kennedy
Produced by Maura O'Keeffe & Kathleen Aleton
Production Management by Brendan McLoughlin & Mark Fennell
Stage Management by Gill Weston & Brendan Galvin