This literary companion surveys the life, works, and awards of Irish playwright Brian Friel. Entries investigate his milieu and such topics as religion, violence, and achievement. Character summaries reprise his most significant figures, particularly St. Columba, the victims of Derry's Bloody Sunday, and Hugh O'Neill, the Lord of Tyrone. Coverage of Friel's column in the Irish Times and his short fiction in the New Yorker leads up to the style and influence of his most recent plays, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Translations, and Dancing at Lughnasa.