The Real Field

John B Keane’s son, broadcaster and writer, Billy Keane, goes in search of the truth behind the murder that inspired his father’s most famous work. Billy explores the story behind The Field and looks at its progression from real murder to the theatre, to the Oscar stage. 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Jim Sheridan’s movie version of The Field. The Oscar nominated film was a huge success and received plaudits worldwide, but there was a real story behind The Field and it involved one of Ireland’s most notorious unsolved murders. John B. Keane’s The Field was first performed in 1965 in the Olympia Theatre. It was a controversial play as it was staged only seven years after the murder that inspired it. The death of Moss Moore in rural Kerry had shocked the nation. It caused a sensation throughout 1950’s Ireland where murder was rare. It remains an extraordinary case because the murder of Moss Moore has never been solved and the mystery of his death remains, the consequences of which resonate in Kerry to the present day. Dan Foley was suspected of the murder and, although he was never charged, he was ostracised from his local community. John B used him as the model for the Bull McCabe.