All the King's Horses

All the King's Horses is a play written by Irish-born journalist and playwright John McDonnell in 1961. The play takes its title from the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. The plot concerns an elderly Irish woman, Kate Houlihan, who dies and leaves her fortune equally between her two nephews Michael and William. Michael is a Southern Irish Republican and William is a Northern Irish Orangeman. To inherit the fortune Michael and William must spend a month in peace in Kate's cottage. The two men find they are unable to live in peace so Kate's solicitor, Mr Applebloom, decides to partition the cottage. Much of the humour is derived from the two men trying to at first compete and then co-operate in the situation. For example, a radio is on one side of the cottage but the electrical socket is on the other. The play was first produced at the Abbey Theatre on 20 March 1961. The play came to the attention of Northern Irish actor and comedian James Young who decided to run it at the Ulster Group Theatre, Belfast. McDonnell rewrote the play for Young, including the addition of a new character, an Englishman who did not understand Irish politics. The rewritten version was first produced at the Group Theatre on 24 October 1961.