From the glorification of violent struggle in 'The Shadow of a Gunman' through the rest of his Irish trilogy, Dublin playwright Sean O'Casey demonstrated the futility of violence to achieve political aims. Eventually in 'The Silver Tassie', set partially in the trenches of WW1, he espoused a pacifist message of the utter futility of war.

Maitrikaya explores how O'Casey believed in the solidarity of the entire human race over narrow national interests and how, though not a Buddhist himself, he lived by the Buddhist principle of non-violence. 

Talk given at Culture Night in the Dublin Buddhist Centre on 21st September 2018.