Shadow and Substance

Résumé : The Catholic-driven Censorship of Publications Act of 1929 had lead to a dearth of good contemporary plays about Ireland. Carroll, by using considerable wit, and by exploring the complexities of faith and clerical practice rather than attacking them, managed to get past the censor and win over audiences at home and abroad. The hilariously drawn local characters and the Canon's sardonic comments help to lighten the polemic against the Church's domination of education, which caused Carroll himself to leave his native Dundalk to teach in Glasgow. (Oxfor Reference)