Tour: Wed 18 May Letterkenny, Thur 19 May Roscommon, Fri 20 May Carndonagh, Sat 21 May Kilcar.
There’s a second chance to see drama I Would Walk These Fields Again as it embarks on a mini tour this May as part of the Bealtaine Festival. Produced by An Grianán Theatre in association with the Donegal County Council, I Would These Fields Again is a celebration of the life of well known Donegal native Father James McDyer – his life, his work and his legacy.
Starring John D Ruddy and Louise Conaghan, the play was well received by local audiences when it debuted last year. There will be four performances – starting at An Grianán Theatre on Wednesday 18 May, Roscommon Arts Centre on Thursday 19, Colgan Hall in Carndonagh on Friday 20 and Kilcar Parish Hall on Saturday 21 May.
Father McDyer was a man of great energy, humour and conviction, qualities which are captured in this drama by Guy Le Jeune.
Born in Glenties in 1910, Father McDyer was ordained in Maynooth. He spent ten years in London during the Second World War where he tended to the needs of the emigrant Irish population. He returned to Ireland, spending four years on Tory Island before being sent to the parish of Glencolmcille in South-West Donegal, in 1951. From then until his death in 1987 he worked tirelessly against what he termed “the curse of emigration”.
He encouraged new enterprises, set up a cooperative, persuaded government ministers and their departments to support his ideas and inspired the community to help themselves, rather than rely on handouts from the State. In his own words, he described himself as a “Christian Communist”, taking his inspiration from the political turmoil and radical ideas of the early twentieth century.
Writer Guy Le Jeune is Theatre-Artist-in-Residence at An Grianán Theatre, supported by the Donegal County Council and the Arts Council. His previous plays for An Grianán include On The Camel’s Hump and Fiesta. He is currently writing a new musical, Unified, which will be the feature event of this summer’s Earagail Arts Festival.
Tour Dates
An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny
Wednesday 18 May at 8pm Box Office 074 912 0777
Roscommon Arts Centre
Thursday 19 May at 8pm Box Office 090 66 25 824
Colgan Hall, Carndonagh
Friday 20 May at 8pm Tickets available on the door.
Halla ná Paróiste, Cill Chartha/Kilcar Parish Hall
Satharn 21ú Bealtaine/Saturday 21 May at 8.30pm Tickets available on the door.
