As inspiration John Millington Synge, took for the character of Christy Mahon in his 1907 "The Playboy of the Western World, an Irishman by the name of Liam O Mallie.
O Maille was believed to have been born in 1873 and lived two miles west of the town land of Callow in Murvey, Connemara. In January 1873 he accidentally killed his father during a fight. He fled the scene, eventually making his way to Inishmore, staying with relatives in Cill Ronan. He was eventually able to escape to the United States, where he was later joined by his wife.