Conor McPherson (born August 6, 1971) is an Irish playwright and director. Born in Dublin and educated at University College Dublin, McPherson began writing his first plays there as a member of UCD Dramsoc, the college's dramatic society, and went on to found Fly by night theatre company which produced several of his plays. He is considered one of the best contemporary Irish playwrights; his plays have attracted good reviews, and have been performed internationally (notably in the West End and on Broadway). The Weir won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play for 1999. His 2004 play Shining City prompted the London Telegraph to describe him as 'the finest dramatist of his generation...' A meditation on regret, guilt and confusion, the play is set entirely within the Dublin offices of a psychiatrist who himself has psychological secrets. Whilst much of the play takes the form of monologues delivered by a patient, the everyday stories and subtle poignancy and humour make it a riveting experience. It subsequently opened on Broadway in 2006 and was nominated for two Tony Awards, including Best Play. The film of his first screenplay, I Went Down (Film), was critically acclaimed and a great commercial success. His first feature film as director, Saltwater won the CICAE award for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival. His second feature film was The Actors," which he wrote and directed. (via Wikipedia)