[1][2] Noted for his ability to reproduce the speech of working class Belfast, he has been described as Northern Ireland's most important playwright,[2] and encouraged the careers of other writers including Seamus Heaney and Stewart Parker.
[1] On graduating, he worked for a short time in a factory in England, as a private tutor, and then in an educational establishment for unemployed youths in Belfast.
[1] Boyd became a central figure in Belfast's cultural life, with a circle which included Roy McFadden, W. R. Rodgers, Joseph Tomelty, Michael McLaverty, Frank O’Connor, and St John Ervine.
[1] In spite of this, he enjoyed his time at the BBC (where he spend over two decades), and networked widely with Northern Ireland's cultural and political figures.
[1] A number of Boyd's plays were produced in the Lyric Theatre, including The Farm (1972), Guests (1974), The Street (1977), Facing North (1979), Speranza's Boy (1982), Summer Class (1986), and Round the Big Clock (1992).
[1] Notable items include a rare (possibly singular) recording of Frank O'Connor talking about his childhood, and an edition of James Joyce's Ulysses, which Boyd had smuggled into Ireland to avoid its seizure by Irish customs officials as an obscene publication.
[1] Today, John Boyd is acknowledged as an influential Northern Irish figure, whose friendships and support transcended boundaries and 'locally constructed boxes'.