The character of "John Cassidy" is allegedly based on playwright Sean O'Casey (his name is an Anglicization of O'Casey's), but Rod Taylor, playing the part, bears no resemblance to the famous writer. The real O'Casey was a diminutive man with poor eyesight who always wore thick glasses and kept out of violent encounters. He was a working-class man of strong intellectual gifts and fierce political views, and in reality was, at the time of the events depicted, about fifteen or twenty years older than "Cassidy" is supposed to be.
Young Cassidy
In Dublin circa 1911, John Cassidy (Rod Taylor), an impoverished idealist, whose ambitions are restricted by the demands of looking after his family, journeys through the social injustices of Dublin life, involving himself with the rowdy tramway-men strike, dawdling with prostitute Daisy Battles (Julie Christie), and seeking a better life. He falls in love with bookshop assistant Nora (Dame Maggie Smith) who encourages him toward a life of writing. Finding success at the Abbey Theatre, his unorthodox views estrange him from family, friends, and his own past.
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