Ballybeg (fictional town) explained

Ballybeg, an anglicisation of the Irish language name Baile Beag (IPA: [bˠalˠə bʲɔɡ]) meaning "Little Town", is a fictional town in which Irish playwright Brian Friel set many of his works.^[1] Several of Friel's plays, including Philadelphia Here I Come!, Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa, are set in the fictional County Donegal town.^{[2] [3] [4]} Friel's Ballybeg is partially based on the real village of Glenties, close to where he lived.^{[5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Brian Friel revealed Ireland, past and present, to itself . Gary . McKeone . The Guardian . theguardian.com . 2 October 2015 . 18 October 2019 .
2. Web site: Nightingale . Benedict . Brian Friel's letters from an internal exile . The Times . 23 February 2009 . Brian Friel's Ballybeg - originally known in Gaelic as baile beag or “small town” - has known troubles galore.
3. Web site: O'Kelly . Emer . Friel's deep furrow cuts to our heart . Sunday Independent . 6 September 2009 . Ireland possesses the universal voice as far as Friel is concerned. He does not look beyond, and forges the steel of human experience in a place called Ballybeg.
4. Web site: McElroy . Steven . The Week Ahead: Jan. 21 - 27 . The New York Times . 21 January 2007 . In the fictional town of Ballybeg in 1833, the British are remapping and renaming every hill and dale with English words, thus declaring ownership of the land while simultaneously treading on national pride.
5. Web site: 'Glenties is the stage': Brian Friel's Donegal . Joe . Mulholland . Irish Times . irishtimes.com . 3 October 2015 . 18 October 2019 . Glenties, in fact, offered [Friel] everything he needed to create an baile beag – Ballybeg.
6. Web site: The Irish Chekhov . Marie-Louise . Muir . BBC . bbc.com . 15 December 2015 . 18 October 2019 . the small Donegal town of Glenties became his spiritual home and inspired the fictional Ballybeg, the setting for 14 of his plays and now as famous in global theatrical history as Chekhov’s provincial Russia .