Billy Roche facts for kids

Billy Roche, born on January 11, 1949, is an Irish writer and actor. He was born in Wexford, Ireland, and still lives there today. Many of his stories and plays are set in Wexford.

Before becoming a writer, Billy was a singer with a band called The Roach Band. He started writing in the 1980s. He is well-known for his plays, especially a group of three plays called "The Wexford Trilogy." He has also written screenplays for movies and published novels and short stories.

Billy Roche's Career

The Wexford Trilogy Plays

Billy Roche is most famous for "The Wexford Trilogy." This is a series of three full-length plays that were first performed at the Bush Theatre in London. They were all directed by Robin Lefevre.

• A Handful of Stars (1988): This play is set in a snooker club in Wexford. It tells the story of young people and their dreams. It shows how their hopes can sometimes lead to unexpected paths.
• Poor Beast In The Rain (1989): This play takes place in a betting shop in Wexford. It's about a man who returns home and brings back old memories and feelings for his friends.
• Belfry (1991): This is a romantic comedy set in a church. It's about a quiet church worker who falls in love with a married woman.

These three plays were also made into a TV series by the BBC in 1993. The same actors from the original stage plays were in the TV version. A famous critic, Michael Billington, said that Billy Roche was one of the most important new writers of the 1980s. He noted that Roche's plays showed the detailed life in small towns.

Other Creative Works

Plays for the Stage

Billy Roche has written other plays besides "The Wexford Trilogy." These include:

• Amphibians (1992)
• The Cavalcaders (1993, 1994)
• On Such As We (2001)

After not writing plays for a while, Roche wrote Lay Me Down Softly. This play is set in a traveling boxing ring in Ireland. It was first performed in Dublin in November 2008. Billy Roche also adapted and directed a one-man stage show of his book, ‘The Diary of Maynard Perdu’, which toured from 2017 to 2019.

Acting Roles

As an actor, Billy Roche has appeared in several plays and films:

• Aristocrats (1988)
• The Cavalcaders (1993)
• Trojan Eddie (1997)
• Man About Dog (2004)
• The Eclipse (2009), a film based on one of his short stories.

Films

Billy Roche wrote the movie script for Trojan Eddie in 1997. This film starred famous actors like Richard Harris and Stephen Rea.

Books

Billy Roche has also written several books:

• His novel Tumbling Down was first published in 1986. He updated and re-released it in 2008.
• His collection of short stories, Tales from Rainwater Pond, came out in 2006.
• He also wrote a short novel called ‘The Diary of Maynard Perdu’ in 2008.

Tutoring Young Writers

In 2005, Billy Roche started teaching writing to students in Wexford. He worked with his friend Eoin Colfer, who wrote the popular Artemis Fowl books. Together, they helped these students create the first 'Novus' magazine.

Roche and Colfer helped each student improve their short stories. Since then, Billy Roche has continued to coach many local writers. This group of young writers has published two books of their work: Inked (2007) and Inked 2 (2008). These books show the great results of Roche's teaching.

In 2007, Billy Roche was chosen to be a member of Aosdána. This is a special group that honors Irish artists.