Author Archives: Enda McCallig





Christian O’Reilly will perform the official opening for the 2020 festival

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Claremorris Drama and Fringe festival are delighted to announce that  Christian O’Reilly will perform the Official opening on March 12th.

Originally from Listowel, Christian O’Reilly is a Galway-based writer. His plays include It Just Came Out (Druid Debut Series 2001), The Good Father (Druid – Galway Arts Festival 2002; national tour 2003; joint writer of the 2002 Stewart Parker Trust New Playwright Bursary), Is This About Sex? (Rough Magic – 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival; 50th Dublin Theatre Festival; Winner of Best Theatre Script at the 2008 Irish Writers’ Guild Awards), Here We Are Again Still (Decadent/ Galway City Council – 2009 Nun’s Island; bealtine Festival and national tour in 2011), and Sanctuary (Blue Teapot – 2012 Galway Theatre Festival; 2013 Galway Arts Festival and Dublin Fringe Festival).

His screen credits include episodes of BBC One dramas Doctors, Casualty and Holby City as well as Inside I’m Dancing (2004), a feature film based on his original story, which was released in the US as Rory O’Shea Was Here.Two of his plays are being performed at the 50th anniversary Festival, “The Good Father” and “Chapatti”.













Results of the 2019 Claremorris Fringe Festival

Best Script
1st Undocumented by Sarah Fahy, Loughrea
2nd I Am Marriage Counsellor of Poland by Paul Maher, Tipperary.

Acting Awards
Best Director, Donna Patrice Reidy for He, She and It
Best Actor Female, Karina as Kalinka in I Am Marriage Counsellor of Poland
Best Actor Male, Paul Hughes as He in He, She and It

Adjudicator Awards
Best Audience Reaction, to Sighle Hughes for I Am Marriage Counsellor of Poland
Best Living Doll to Aisling Costelloe in Mammy & Me And Fifi Makes Three
Best Interpretation of Script, Carmel McCarthy as Miss Durant in Old Broad
Best Lighting to Daragh Burke for Andrew’s Hollow
Most Dramatic Moment to Collette Kinsella for her attack on her captor in Trapped
Most Promising Young Actress, Delia Keane as Karen in Undocumented
Best Newcomers to Fringe Productions, Charlestown Drama Group for Down and Out





Fringe 2019 Line-up

The final line-up for the 2019 Claremorris Fringe Festival of Drama has been announced!

For full details on this year’s competition, please see the new Fringe Festival website

Friday March 15th

Andrew’s Hollow
 John Corless – Claremorris, Co. Mayo

John Corless is a surrealist comedy writer from Claremorris, Co. Mayo. He co-wrote (with Liam Horan) and performed in “The Pull” which toured Ireland for four years from 2012. He wrote “A Great Consolation” for the centenary of the 1916 rising, and has written numerous short plays for the stage and radio.

Group: HalfSolid Productions
The death of Anne’s husband presents unexpected problems in this comedy.
Anne: Christina Jordan
Men: John Corless
Technical: Darragh Burke.
Director: John Corless
The White Feather
 Michael Goulding – Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo

Michael Goulding was born Manchester and moved to Mayo in 2000. He has been involved in numerous musical productions over the years with both Claremorris and Castlebar Musical Societys. As well as acting Michael has  turned his hand to writing and has written numerous plays for radio and stage. He works for Western Care Association and also presents a programme on Midwest Radio on Monday's at 10pm.

Group: Grand Productions
A play about a father and daughter and the All-Ireland Final.
Ciara: Vivienne Lee
Josie: Ronan Egan
Director: Michael Goulding

Sunday March 17th

Mammy and Me (And Fifi Makes Three)
 Nicola Kean – Claremorris, Co. Mayo

Amist the chaos of the modern world, Nicola Kean finds playwriting to be a form of therapy and a means to dissect the myriad of colourful characters that she encounter in her day-to-day life.  In 2016, she won the Claremorris Fringe Festival and earlier this year, she was short-listed for the Eamon Keane full-length play award. She is currently working on her third full-length script.

Group: Fringe Benefits
Mammy has never been keen on Eugene’s taste in women. But this time he’s found himself a real doll.
Eugene: Ollie Turner
Mammy: Sinéad Sheridan
Fifi: Aishling Costello
Director: Nicola Kean
Some Other Doorway
 Fiona Kelly – Dublin

Fiona Kelly is an award-winning radio producer and broadcaster, best known as a presenter of "It says in the papers" on RTE 's "Morning Ireland". Since 2017, she has also been writing storylines for "Fair City". She lives in Dublin with her husband, two children and a dog called Magic.

Group: The Clockwork Theatre Company
Sarah and Karl are a young couple planning their future together – but do they share the same values?
Sarah: Rebecca Flynn
Karl: Corey Patton
Roddy: Michael Heavey
Director: Fiona Kelly

Monday March 18th

Old Broad
 John Paul Murphy – Galway

John Paul Murphy is an actor and playwright from Co Galway.  As an actor, John Paul has appeared in Jack Taylor, Fair City and Wrecking the Rising (TG4). With all his plays, John Paul laces his writing with lots of humour. His most recent play 'Turn around bright eyes' won the award for best new writing at the Galway Fringe 2018.

Group: Clurichaun Theatre
An ageing, decadent old actress reminisces on her life before her final performance.
Miss Durant: Carmel McCarthy
Director: Donna Patrice Reidy
Undocumented
 Sarah Fahy – Loughrea, Co. Galway

Galway native Sarah Fahy writes poetry, prose and scripts. She is also an actress and director with local groups in Loughrea.  As a playwright she has had two plays stage performed. Her play ‘Significant Loss’ was recently adapted into a short film and won The Offline Film Festival in Birr, Co Offaly. Sarah's passion truly is the arts.

Group: The Drama Heads
Three women, all under the same roof, but living very different lives.
Peggy: Geraldine Brennan 
Marian: Sarah Fahy
Karen: Delia Keane
Director: Donna Patrice Reidy

Thursday March 21st

I Am Marriage Counsellor of Poland
 Paul Maher – Tipperary

Paul Maher is a Tipperary native and his plays have been short-listed for the PJ O’Connor Awards, Listowel Writer’s Week, Kenneth Branagh Award & London Festival of Pub Theatre. His work has been performed at local Arts Festivals in Cashel & Clonmel.

Group: Wilde River Drama Group
Anna’s Polish hairdresser, Kalinka, decides to help Anna out with a bit of marriage counselling.
Kalinka: Karina Gdowska Jakubowska
Anna: Yvonne Murray 
Mike: James Murray
Director: Sighle Hughes
Down and Out
 Peter Gould – London

Peter Gould is a writer and theatre director based in London. After a career in journalism, mainly with the BBC, he now works as a volunteer with The Questors Theatre in Ealing, where he helps to develop new work for the stage. Peter was a qualifier in last year’s Fringe and we are delighted to welcome him back again to Claremorris this year.

Group: Charlestown Drama Group
A play about 21 st Century underclass, that challenges the assumptions we make about those less fortunate than ourselves.
Tom: Tony Henry
Becky: Anita O Sullivan
Cassie: Carmel Parsons
Jade: Miriam Colleran
Directors : Natalie Byrne and Naomi Clarke

Saturday March 23rd

Trapped
 Joe Bergin – Kildare

Joe Bergin lives in Leixlip, Co. Kildare and has been involved in amateur theatre for over forty years as both actor and director.  His play “Merry-go-round” was placed second in the Claremorris Fringe in 2017 and he went on to win first place in 2018 with another piece “Interplay”.  He has just completed a course in “Directing for the Theatre” at Maynooth University.

Group: Tumble Down Productions
A young woman finds herself tied to a chair, her captor is unsure of the implications of what he has done. Just who is trapped?
Man: Brendan O'Sullivan
Woman: Collette Kinsella
Director: Joe Bergin
He, She And It
 Moira Mahony – Athenry, Co. Galway

Moira Mahony is an actor and director from Athenry, Co. Galway.  She has worked with numerous groups including Seumas O'Kelly Players, Athenry Drama Group, BlenDiva Productions, Unspoken Word and the Dramaheads.  Moira has been involved in Claremorris Fringe for the past 5 years, acting and directing. This her first attempt at play writing.

Group: BlenDiva Productions
A couple are delivered the devastating news that their only child has additional needs.
He: Paul Hughes
She: Moira Mahony
Joan: Natalie Halloran
Joshy: Ciarán Mahony
Director: Donna Patrice Reidy




Fringe Qualifiers for 2019

The list of qualifiers for the Fringe Festival 2019 are below:

‘Old Broad’ by John Paul Murphy, Galway
‘Some Other Doorway’ by Fiona Kelly, Dublin
‘Undocumented’ by Sarah Fahy, Loughrea
‘I Am Marriage Counsellor of Poland’ by Paul Maher, Tipperary
‘He, She and It’ by Moira Mahony, Athenry
‘Mammy and Me (And Fifi Makes Three)’ by Nicola Kean, Claremorris
‘Down and Out’ by Peter Gould, London
‘Andrew’s Hollow’ by John Corless, Claremorris
‘Trapped’ by Joe Bergin, Kildare
‘The White Feather’ by Michael Goulding, Ballyhaunis





2019 Season Tickets

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Season Tickets are now available from the Town Hall Box Office – 09493 10999

Season Ticket: €90 for 10 nights
New 5 Night Ticket: €50
Nightly Tickets €15









Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell to open 2019 Festival

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We’re delighted to announce that Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell will open the 49th Claremorris Drama and Fringe festival on March 14th 2019.

Marie-Louise O’Donnell studied English and Education at Nottingham University, Masters in Education at NUI Maynooth, M.A. in Modern Drama at UCD and Theatre and Voice at The Guild Hall School of Music and Drama in London. She became head of Drama at Carysfort Teacher Training College, a Theatre Director and a professional actress. She trained in Radio Production Presentation and Direction with the BBC in London and made and presented programmes for BBC Radio 4 for several years. As a member of staff in DCU for 23 years, she lectured in The School of Communications.

In the early 90s she initiated and developed The Arts and Culture on the young DCU University campus, culminating in the imaging, building and launch of The Helix in 2002. She was appointed to the Board of the National Concert Hall for 2 terms. Marie Louise has lectured extensively in Ireland, Europe and the USA in Education, Irish Drama, Irish Culture and Language. She is a noted after dinner speaker and has acted as invited master of ceremonies for many National and International events.

She has presented programmes on Television and Radio and is a regular reviewer and media contributor. She works weekly as a colour radio writer and reporter on the national broadcaster’s Sean O’Rourke show. Marie-Louise is a published writer. In May 2011 she was appointed to the Senate by The Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

She had recently published a Government report commissioned by the Taoiseach entitled ‘Finite Lives’ Dying Death and Bereavement. An examination of State Service in Ireland.She was re-appointed to the Senate by The Taoiseach in 2016.