Padraic Colum Colum started to write and met a number of the leading Irish writers of the time, including W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and Æ. He also joined the Gaelic League and was a member of the first board of the Abbey Theatre. He became a regular user of the National Library of Ireland, where he met James Joyce and the two became lifelong friends. During the riots caused by the Abbey Theatre's production of "The Playboy of the Western World", Padraic Colum's father, Patrick Columb, was one of the protestors. Padraic himself was not engaged in the protests, although he
Festival Theatre, Malvern the arts in the town. Funding was raised by a company dedicated to building the theatre, and 200 shares amounting to £5 each were allotted. The foundation stone of the assembly rooms of the theatre was laid down by the Earl Beauchamp on 6 July 1884, attended by Jenny Lind, Lady Emily Foley and Dr. W. T. Fernie. The theatre was inaugurated on 1 July 1885. The Festival Theatre of Malvern became known for its George Bernard Shaw productions in the 1930s. Michael W. Pharand considers the friendship and artistic relationship between Bernard Shaw and Barry Vincent Jackson to have