IRISH STAGE CHARACTER

Many slight plays were written as vehicles for Irish singer-comedians like Joe Murphy,W. J. Scan-lan, andChauncey Olcott. The "stage Irishman" was an ethnic type popularized in plays byDion Boucicault, followed byEdward Harrigan's series of Mulligan Guard plays. The characterizations built upon a Hibernian accent, considerable physical activity, and references to the "auld sod" as well as vagrancy, fisticuffs, drinking, and singing.