Drama festival up and running in Claremorris
Playwright John McDwyer (front row, left), who performed the official opening of the All-Ireland Drama Festival in Claremorris is pictured with Catherine and Gerard Concannon of CBE (main sponsors) at the opening evening in La Casa Tapas & Wine ahead of the first night in Claremorris Town Hall Theatre last Friday. Back row, from left: Edward Hayden, Drama League of Ireland; Mary Esler, Claremorris Drama Festival; Liam Hannaway, Chairman of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI); Linda Connolly-Beirne, Claremorris Drama Festival and Peter McCallig, Chairman, Claremorris Drama Festival. Picture: Michael Donnelly
World events interrupted Peter McCallig’s plans for the opening of the All-Ireland Confined Drama Finals last Friday night in Claremorris.
Sabina Higgins, who was scheduled to perform the ceremony, was unable to attend as she was accompaning her husband President Michael D Higgins, to the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome. Instead, playwright John McDwyer cut the tape to open the prestigious amateur drama festival.
John McDwyer was born in Sooey, Co. Sligo in 1947 but describes himself as a naturalised Leitrim man, having lived most of his adult life in that county. He worked in various parts of Ireland for AIB for 32 years before retiring to help co-found Beezneez Theatre Company, a semi-professional touring company. He was artistic director for Beezneez from its foundation in 1997 until its ‘retirement’ in 2024.
John holds the unique distinction of having competed against his own play at the All-Ireland Amateur Drama Final in Athlone in 1996 when Corn Mill Theatre presented his first stage play and he won the Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Frank in ‘Educating Rita’ for Breffni Players.
He emerged as a writer in 1992 when his first radio play, , won the RTÉ PJ O’Connor award and he has had numerous radio plays performed since then. His first published short story, , won the Leitrim Guardian Literary Award in 1994.
His Leitrim Trilogy of plays, comprising , and was published in 2007 and other stage plays include , , , , and . His newest play, , premiered in The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon, in June 2023 and played to two sold-out national tours in 2023 and 2024.
John lives in Carrick on Shannon and suffers, in equal measure, as a supporter of Sligo Rovers FC and Leitrim GAA.
The festival has drawn huge crowds to Claremorris since it opened on Friday night when Enniscorthy Theatre Company brought Conor McPherson’s to the stage. Local group Upstage Players brought another McPherson script, , to the boards on Saturday night, with Westport’s St Patrick's Drama Group staging their production of by Marina Carr, on Sunday night.
Last night (Monday) saw Clare’s Sliabh Aughty Drama Group bringing their production of by Brian Friel to life. The festival continues tonight (Tuesday) with Tinahely Variety Group. Their offering is by Michael Carey. Tomorrow (Wednesday), neighbouring group, Clann Machua Drama Group from Kiltimagh, will stage by Roddy Doyle. On Thursday, Phoenix Players make the journey from Tubbercurry with their production of by Brian Friel. On Friday, Castleblayney Players bring by Steven Fechter to the festival, and on the final night, Saturday, Glenamaddy Players come to town with their production of by Iseult Golden and David Horan.
Adjudicator Anna Walker will announce the results at a gala dinner in the McWilliam Park Hotel on Sunday night.
There are many other events in the town to coincide with the festival. On this Wednesday, April 30th, the Claremorris Artists Group will exhibit their work at The Gallery, Mount Street, with the exhibition open to the public from 2 to 6pm. This venue will continue to host exhibitions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 1st to 3rd, also from 2 to 6pm each day, providing an ideal opportunity to enjoy local artistic talent.
Thursday will also feature a special introduction to classical music, presented by Andrew Newman at 1.30pm, offering an accessible and enjoyable entry point into the genre.
The final day of the Fringe Festival, Saturday, May 3rd, begins with a drama workshop led by Padraic McIntyre at 9am in the Family Resource Centre. Later in the afternoon, the festival will conclude in high spirits with a lively traditional music session in the covered area at The Square at 4.00pm.
The results will be announced at the McWilliam Park Hotel on Sunday, May 4th. All of the preliminary drama festivals will be represented at this event, as well as the groups who competed in the All-Ireland Finals. Awards will be presented after the meal and this event will be live-streamed online.
