Down the Nights and Down the DaysThis latest book from veteran ONeillian Edward L. Shaughnessy examines the influence of the Irish playwrights Catholic heritage on his moral imagination. Critics, due to O'Neill's early renunciation of faith at age 15, have mostly overlooked this presence in his work. While Shaughnessy makes no attempt to reclaim him for Catholicism, he uncovers evidence that O'Neill retained the imprint of his Irish Catholic upbringing and acculturation in his work.