William Roberts’ portrait of O’Flaherty first appeared in New Coterie No. 3, summer 1926, and then as a frontispiece to this title. Darkness was first performed in Irish at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in March 1926. In order to establish performance copyright in the English version, O'Flaherty asked the publisher, Charles Lahr, to arrange for a reading of the play, and this reading took place at Roberts' Chalk Farm studio on 27 April 1926. The original portrait is held by the National Library of Ireland.