Carrigallen claims a
history of amateur theatre dating back to the last century. Johnny
Cosgrove, great-great-
grandfather of Jim and Geraldine Cosgrove, Clooncorrick, who died
in the 1960's aged 94, was one of the leading
drama enthusiasts in the 1880's together with John Slowey, Hugh
Kiernan and James Harney, a policeman's son.
At that time Clooncorrick
Castle housed performances. In the 1890's, Johnny Cosgrove
and his group also played in
the primary school, which was situated in the grounds in front
of the present Catholic Church. Rehearsals were held
in a section of O'Reilly's premises, which were also used as a
courthouse. In the early part of this century, up to
1926, drama was performed in the Market House, owned by the late
Jack Smith, a businessman in the town. These
premises later on became Brewsters' garage (more recently Dan
Dolan's garage and presently owned by Paddy
Mc Cann).
In 1918 The West's Awake
was staged to raise funds for Sinn Féin. In the early 1920's
John Joe Dolan's father,
Con, and Packie Cosgrove took part in a play called The Shaughran.
When the players were taking their production
to Ballinamore they prevailed upon Jack Smith to lend them his
new Bedford truck. The driver of the vehicle was
Peter Kennedy. Between Carrigallen and Ballinamore they were hijacked
by the IRA: the lorry was commandeered
but was returned the following day to its owner. Some of the people
associated with the productions in the Market
House were John Briody, Barney Reilly, John Campbell, Con Dolan,
Katie Rourke, Eugene Sweeney, Richards,
Delaneys, Farrellys and of course the Cosgroves.
A new chapter opened when
the construction of the Gaelic Hall, Chapel Road, commenced during
the troubles. It
was built with voluntary labour and was completed in 1926. The
building is adjacent to the old primary school. The
first play staged there was Lily of Killarney. Another show in
the early years of the Gaelic Hall was The Whiteboys.
Involved in these productions were Michael, Barney and Mary Joe
Cunnion (the Cunnions owned a bakery in Church
Street), Rosie and Maisie McIntyre, Packie Maguire (still
living in Church Street), Michael Gilhooley (brother of
Mrs Cosgrove), Mrs Cosgrove, Jimmy and Packie Cosgrove, Tom
Farrelly and P Kiernan. Mrs Cosgrove supplied
a lot of the curtains and materials for stage dressings.
The Cosgrove family have been involved in Carrigallen drama from
the 1880's up to the present day. Packie died
in 1978. Simon Lee,The Real McCoy and The Porter were plays performed
in the thirties. New recruits were James
Flynn, Jack McTiernan, A B Curran, Jimmy Curran, Larry McDermott
and Tom Dorr. During the 1930's
impromptu plays were performed in McManus's egg store at the corner
of Church Street. I am told the uncovered
mill-stream flowed through the shed. It was here that the young
aspiring actors learned their trade. Although there
was free entry, audiences were minimal. John Donnelly recalls
that when an entry fee of threepence became
mandatory, there was no problem filling the house! The advertising
was done by Willie Nixon from the roof of the
store with a gramophone horn. Seating consisted of tea chests
and egg boxes. Some of the people who acquitted
themselves well in the training school were Michael and Jim McManus,
Billy and Gerry Cosgrove, Willie and Harry
Nixon, and John Donnelly, Main Street.
Another venue used at that time was a shed on the Chapel Road,
now Pat Magee's display yard. Jack Smith's
customers used the shed to rest their horses. Seán McManus
remembers that quite a lot of digging was necessary in
preparation for performances! The budding stars, unknown to Jack
Smith, entered his yard and with an ample
supply of calico sacks (emblazoned 'Marshall of Belfast')
headed for Mrs McIntyre's of Church Street where Packie
Maguire's house stands. She first of all erased 'Marshall of Belfast'
and then proceeded to stitch the calico sacks
together to make a backdrop. Packie Cosgrove painted the required
scene and the job was finished. At that time Jack
Smith contributed much to the economic and social life of the
community in Carrigallen. He worked a paraffin
generator in his yard which, along with supplying electricity
for his own business, provided light both to the
Market House and the Gaelic Hall when it was required.
Professional travelling
companies frequently performed in Carrigallen because it was unique
in rural Ireland at that
time to have both electric light and a receptive and discerning
audience. John Cowley and Annie Dalton of the The
Riordans, the Baileys, Taylors and Carrickfords, to name but a
few, performed in Carrigallen. While in town they
boarded in the Corner House guest house, now John Joe Dolan's
pub. In fact Robert Carrickford, who plays Stephen
Brennan in Glenroe, performed in the Market House, the Gaelic
Hall, St Patrick's Hall, Main Street, and more
recently in the Corn Mill Theatre when he played in The Country
Boy in 1994.
During the 1940's there
was no individual director. Such was the calibre of the members
that everyone contributed
to the production of plays. The first production of the 40's was
The New TD. Involved at that time were Nell
Hagan, Kathleen Smith, Fr Seán Smith, Anna M. Donohoe,
Maureen Donnelly, Barney Doonan, Willie Reilly,
Pauric Reilly and Jim McManus. At a performance in Rossan, Fr
Seán's moustache went missing and a goat came to
the rescue. The only condition Seán insisted on was that
the required hair be cut some distance from the tail!
The cast rehearsed, on
occasions, under candlelight, in Peter O'Rourke's new house which
was not as yet occupied
by its owner. In 1942 The Whip Hand was produced. Plays at that
time served a dual role, to entertain and to raise
funds for parochial purposes. The annual play was usually performed
on just one night in Carrigallen but if the
need arose a second night was provided. In 1944 Wigs on the Green
was staged, followed by This Hand is Yours in
1945. In 1946 or 1947 Little Nellie Kelly and Spring were performed
together. At that time a variety show
consisting of music, song, dance and recitation was included in
the annual concert. It was a lengthy performance but
was enthusiastically received by all.
Another production in
the 40's was Shadow of a Gunman. Matt Cusack remembers the shot
effect realised by
banging the gun barrel off the wooden leg. Involved in the plays
were Lily Cosgrove, John Donnelly, Willie and
Harry Nixon, Willie Cosgrove, Mrs Cosgrove, Eilish Greene, Jimmy
Cosgrove, Rose Anne Kiernan and Eileen
Sweeney. Walter Fleming (husband of Eileen Fleming) and
Johnny Smith, Francie Smith's uncle, were singers of
note, while Eugene Masterson, Madge McGerty's father, was an accomplished
Irish dancer. The Swan Song,
considered to be the best play performed in the Gaelic Hall, was
staged in 1953.
Fr Lynch came to Carrigallen
as curate in 1954. The following year he directed Nó Bac
Leis, a two-act play.
Michael Hackett and Barney Doonan were two of the drama enthusiasts
at that time. A few lean years were to follow,
during which time Fr Pat McNiffe PP saw it fitting to build St
Patrick's Hall, Main Street, and so bring down the
curtain on the era of the Gaelic Hall. The first play to be staged
in the new hall was The Far-off Hills by a Carrick
group. In the late 50's, the McPeaks from Belfast and the famous
Dubliners performed here. A Gallogly man from
Aughavas ran film shows. They were all cowboy films and Seán
Donnelly recalls standing on an adjacent shed to get
a look in the window.
In 1960, with co-producer
Frank Mc Glynn, Fr Lynch produced Moody in Manitoba by George
Shields. Bill Henry
and Tom Hickey, both from Cavan, were invited along by Fr Lynch
to help with the production. Betty Hickey
accompanied them to advise on make-up. Taking part then were Seán
McGarry (Seán had a shop where Eileen Ward
now lives); Bartley Conroy, (a teacher in Drumeela),
Lily McGoohan (Lily Plunkett); Paddy McCormack, a
Westmeath man who married a McCabe girl from Drumeela, Barney
Doonan, Alfie Harte, Tommy and Joe
McCartin.
The
Cast of 'Mugs & Money',
1961.
Tommy McCartin, Sean Connolly, Alfie Harte, Barney Doonan, B.
Conroy & Joe McCartin (Conaught/Ulster MEP),
M. Fay, Lillie Plunkett & B. Curran.
Mugs and Money, directed by Fr Lynch, went a step further the
following year, 1961, when the Company entered a
novice drama festival in Cavan. The competition was held in the
afternoon and continued on into the evening
incorporating three shows in succession. This format was not conducive
to attracting big audiences and thus drama
companies had to play to very small houses.
This was a very successful
outing for the Carrigallen Players, with Lily McGoohan winning
a medal for best actress
of the festival. The following year, 1962, Fr Lynch directed All
The Kings Horses. Bartley Conroy played the part
of a garda. The money accrued from performances was used to help
reduce the debt on the hall. Having satisfied the
home crowd, Fr Lynch recalls travelling to venues such as Swanlinbar,
Corroneary and Potahee. The remuneration
from those outings was half the takings on the door. Along with
the names already mentioned in the fifties, we can
add Eugene Corr, Tommy Kiernan, Betty Connolly, Margaret Faye,
Dolly Reilly, Tim McCaffrey, Mrs Dawson,
John McGoohan, the two McCuskers and Geraldine Mullery N.T.
In 1963 Fr Patsy Young replaced
Fr Lynch as curate. The production that year was Old Acquaintance.
Sheila
Mitchell, who had just returned from England, was roped into the
cast. Sadly her brother died in England before
the show was ready for the stage and the production never came
to fruition. It was at that time also that the
Carrigallen Players adopted the name the Community Players. In
1964 Frank McGlynn directed Roadside.
A box set was normal
then and wooden legs were used. These consisted of eight-foot
flats held in place in an
overhead groove. Domestic bulbs were used for lighting. Easy Money
was the 1965 production. In 1966 Tommy
Moran arrived on the scene in Charlie's Aunt. The three-act farce
was well received in Carrigallen and the group
decided to spread its wings. In Swanlinbar the audience consisted
of eleven Carrigallen supporters plus twelve
others. Stradone attracted no more than the caretaker of the hall
and in Crosserlough not even the caretaker turned
up. Jimmy McGerty recalls that when they visited Mountnugent,
the audience there consisted of a dozen or so
card-players at the back of the hall who had their backs to the
stage.
In 1966, the 50th anniversary
of the Easter Rising, the Tom Clarke Rooms were opened with Rebels
and Raincoats.
In 1967 Maura Harte played the mother of the house in Old Acquaintance,
the play that never came to fruition back
in 1963. Jimmy McGerty played the sergeant. He recalls Tommy Moran
prompting him from underneath a table on
stage. He also remembers Maura's repetitive line to him 'You're
a game boy, sergeant'. In 1968 Eilleen Ward played
her first role in That Family Feeling.
In 1969 the Community
Players took a further step into the world of theatre when they
entered their first festival in
Threemilehouse, Co Monaghan. This was an unaffiliated festival
run by Fr Markey. On arrival at Threemilehouse
the hall was locked and on gaining entry the fuses had been removed.
'Where in God's name is Carrigallen?' asked
someone. 'It's in Leitrim' replied John Donnelly. When they were
leaving, John Joe Smith asked: 'Where in hell is
Threemilehouse?' so we were about evens. The only member of the
crew made welcome was Gus Ward, who made
a great impression on the lady adjudicator, Marie O'Hanlon. He
stole the show where awards were concerned.
Certificates of merit awarded to some members of the cast failed
to arrive by post, as promised. The following year,
Gus and Una Ward played the lovers in Them.
(Left) The Cast of
'Them', 1970.
(Back) Frank McGlynn; Tommy Moran; John Donnelly; Jimmy
McGerty; Pat Fitzpatrick; Gus Ward;
Fr Patsy Young CC; Peter McNamee. (Front) Sadie Maguire;
Mary Coddon; Mary Magee; Anne Maguire;
Veronica Dolan; Úna Ward & Madge McGerty.
(Right) The Cast of 'Sharon's Grave', 1973.
(Back) Donie Coffey, Tommy Moran, Peter McNamee, Other,
Other Pat Fitzpatrick, Brian Connell, James Dooner,
Jerome Maguire, Cathal Farrelly, Other, Gus Ward, Other, Seán
Connolly, Madge McGerty, Seán Nash &
Michael Hackett. (Front) Mary Magee, Sadie Maguire, Maura
Farrelly, Fr Patsy Young, Bernadette Keenan,
Veronica Dolan, Elizabeth McGlynn & Gerry Murray.
That same year it was seen fitting to invite Patsy Croal to conduct
a Theatre Workshop in St Patrick's Hall. All
members of the company were encouraged to participate. This was
a very informative and worthwhile exercise,
which inspired Sadie Maguire, Veronica Dolan, Gus Ward, Mary Magee
and Fr Patsy Young to attend a drama
course conducted in Gormanstown with a view to improve standards
in the group and to get involved in the festival
circuit.
In 1971 with Many Young
Men of Twenty directed by Frank McGlynn, the Community Players
entered a drama
festival in Glenamaddy. This was a registered festival under the
auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland.
The company acquitted themselves well on the outing. In 1972 Fr
Patsy Young took over the role of director. The
first play was Bugle in the Blood. He was also lighting manager,
ably assisted by Christy Kiernan. It was a great
achievement to reach the All-Ireland confined finals in Loughrea
on the first attempt. Patrick McLoughlin was the
adjudicator there but he was not impressed by the production and
indeed was very critical of the director.
Afterwards Mrs Eileen Fleming, who was a very keen supporter of
the Community Players, approached the
adjudicator and asked 'What do we have to do with the director?'
to which Patrick Mc Loughlin replied: 'Get rid
of him and get yourselves a producer'.
In 1973 Gus Ward was asked to direct Sharon's Grave and Fr Patsy
Young was in charge of lighting, at which he
was very accomplished. In the course of the year Gus became ill
and the lot of director fell back to Fr Patsy. He
proceeded with his crew to win the All-Ireland award in Loughrea.
Involved at that time were Fr Patsy Young,
Gus Ward, Gerry Murray, Sadie Maguire, Bernadette Keenan, Mary
Magee, Mary Hunt, Maura Farrelly,
Veronica Dolan, Michael Hackett, Christy Kiernan, Gerome Maguire,
Madge McGerty, Cathal Farrelly,
Pat Fitzpatrick, Aidan Harte, Peter McNamee, Seán Nash,
Elizabeth McGlynn, Seán Connolly, Annie Smith,
Catherine Duffy, James Dooner, Brian Connell and Tommy Moran.
The Community Players
arrived rather late at the festival club to find the doors closed.
Fr Patsy (a non drinker)
managed to purchase a bottle of whiskey which was consumed outside
the GAA grounds in Loughrea. They
proceeded to Carrigallen and woke the sleeping residents. John
Joe Dolan opened his public house and the
celebrations continued until morning. The Shaughran took second
place in the All-Ireland finals in 1974. On the
way to Loughrea the truck, supplied by Hugh Hourican of Arva,
broke down near Ballymahon and a replacement
truck was sent by Phil Brady of Arva. They were great friends
to the Community Players. Phil's son, Niall, is with
the company presently.
(Left) The Cast of 'The Honeyspike',
1975.
(Back) Fr Patsy Young, F Duignan, Cathal Farrelly, Peter
McNamee, Aidan Harte, Cathal Sheridan, Pat Fitzpatrick,
Tommy McCartin, Paddy McDermott, Ralf Rogers & Gus Ward. (Middle)
Des Braiden, Eamonn Daly, Gerry Murray,
R Barry, Veronica Dolan, Bernadette Keenan, Mary Magee, Mary Reilly,
Noreen McManus, Madge McGerty,
Donie Coffey & Tommy Moran. (Front) S Vernon, Maura
Farrelly, Elizabeth McGlynn & Mary Kiernan.
(Right) The Sharon's Grave, 1973 Other, Tommy Moran, Pat
Fitzpatrick, Cathal Farrelly, Sadie Maguire.
In 1975 The Honeyspike,
an outstanding production, along with winning the confined All-Ireland
in Loughrea, came
third in the open section in Athlone, where Tommy Moran, who played
Dickybird, won best supporting actor. Alan
Nicholl was the adjudicator. His wife was of the opinion that
the Community Players should have been adjudged the
winners. Fr Patsy went as curate to Glenfarne in 1975 and has
deservedly earned for himself a niche in amateur
drama in Ireland. Fr Oliver Kelly was lighting manager until 1982,
having replaced Fr Patsy Young.
Gus Ward assumed the
daunting task of director in 1976 when he produced Big Maggie,
which won two premier
awards along with best comedy award at the All-Ireland finals.
In 1977 Gus directed The Playboy of the Western
World, which again won two premier awards on the festival circuit
and fourth place in the finals in Loughrea.
1978 took on another
dimension when the Community Players made the first break into
the open section of amateur
drama and were rewarded by achieving a place in the finals in
Athlone with To Live in Peace. Numbers had swelled
then. Taking part were Maura Farrelly, Vincent Murray, Mary Nixon,
Aidan Harte, John Donnelly, Bernadette
Doonan, Pat Fitzpatrick, Liam Grimes, John Joe Smith, Cathal Farrelly,
Peter McNamee, Eric Bothwell, Richard
Nixon, Liam Faughnan, Jimmy McGerty, Rosemary Farrelly, Anne Brady,
Catherine McGovern, Hilda Flanagan,
Maire Reynolds, Paddy McDermott, John McLoughlin, Michael O'Rourke,
Maureen Kiernan, Gus Ward, Cathal
Sheridan, Seán Donnelly, Fr Oliver Kelly, Patrick Delaney,
P.C. Tague, Eamonn Daly, Elizabeth Mc Glynn, and
Madge McGerty.
Eileen Ward directed
The Year of the Hiker in 1979. Jimmy McGerty was the stage manager.
Aidan Harte always
remembers this as his happiest year on the boards. I will have
to say the hiker-Peter McNamee-played a memorable
part. David Walsh, former sports journalist with the Irish Independent,
presently sports journalist with the Sunday
Times, came to Carrigallen to see the play and wrote: "McNamee
portrayed the part of the hiker in all its
dimensions and the intensity of concentration on the part of the
audience was almost tangible".
Gus Ward directed Da
in 1980 and '81 when it took second place in the ADL confined
finals in Mullingar. In 1981
The Workhouse Ward, also directed by Gus, won the All-Ireland
one-act finals. Cathal Farrelly directed Sive in
1982. Paddy Dillon directed The Black Stranger in 1983. It qualified
for the All-Ireland finals held in Rossmore,
Co Cork. In 1984 Maura McGuinness directed The Country Boy, another
play which was much appreciated by the
punters. In 1985 Gus emulated the success of Fr Patsy Young with
The Wood of the Whispering, which won the
confined All-Ireland finals in Tubbercurry, taking numerous awards
and places, 11 marks ahead of its nearest rival.
The same play came fifth in the open finals in Athlone, where
Eileen Ward won best supporting actress for her
part as Sadie Tubridy. Taking part in 1985 were K McGuinness,
P O' Baoil, E Ward, C Farrelly, R McHugh,
P McNamee, P Dillon, C Durcan, J Williamson, I Olohan, L Johnston,
J Finnegan, P McIntyre, C Sheridan, F Greene,
S Nash, E Daly, E McGlynn.
All Ireland Confined
Winners with 'The Wood of the Whispering', 1985.
R McHugh, K McGuinness,
C Farrelly, K. Johnston, P O' Baoil, J Finnegan, G. Ward (Dir.),
P McIntyre,
L Johnston, J Williamson, C Durcan, I Olohan, E Ward.
In 1986 Cathal Farrelly directed Philadelphia Here I Come and
in 1987 he was at the helm again with The Field,
which reached the All-Ireland finals held in the Hawkswell Theatre,
Sligo. The Community Players were as close to
professional as you would find and always produced a piece of
excellent drama. Neighbouring parishes and towns
availed of their free services to finance a variety of organisations.
These included Cornafean, Crosserlough,
Corroneary, Mohill, Cloone, Ballinamore, Ballintemple, Drumlish,
Milltown, Arva, Belturbet, Kinawley,
Killeshandra and Colmcille. The Community Players had an excellent
reputation since they always played to full
houses on and off the festival circuit. Jimmy McGerty transported
sets to many of the above venues. He was a
great advocate of six-inch nails; a set was put up to stay up!
Directors of the Carrigallen
Community Players; Fr. Patsy Young, Gus Ward & Cathal Farelly.
© Ronan Ward Design
2003. All Rights Reserved.