Diarmy
Last August I was at a GAA fixture where Beale were facing Tarbert/Moyvane and I met Mary Lavery Carrig where she mentioned to me that she was hoping to try and set up a Theatre Group to see what might happen as she had a play in mind. After initial meetings with a number of interested parties , the Tarbert Theatre Players was born. Rehearsals began back in September in the back section of Coolahans where Mary assembled the people she felt most encapsulated the characters she had written about.
“ Diarmy” is based on true events surrounding the controversial moves to ban the cutting of turf in raised bogs. It is a story of love , loss and a real love of the land. Mary put lots of time and effort into finding the right people to bring her vision to life , enter a cast full of life , comic timing and a real passion to make this play work. She also assembled a back stage team that would also help bring this play to life.
Looking at the cast she put together , you had a mix of youth and experience , the experienced heads of John Dowling , Yvonne O Keeffe Fox and Helen Enright showed the ropes to the young bucks like Cormac Wall and Jimmy Sweeney. The rest of the cast was expertly put in place with each part given to people who had the correct qualities to bring each character to life.
Maura Mc Dermott in the role of Babe Mc Morrow , PJ Normile was given the task of bringing life to Phillip Mc Morrow , John Dowling took the role of Diarmy Mc Morrow , Cormac Wall played long lost son Diarmuid Mc Morrow , Thomas Mulvihill played family friend Ned Mc Kee , Shane Wall played Simon O Neill , the shifty Inspector from the council , Tom Stack played Fr Dan Mullins , the Priest who should have joined the Army instead of taking holy orders. , Guard Atkinson was expertly portrayed by Jimmy Sweeney, Dr Farrell , the golf loving GP was played by Helen Enright , Delores Van Der Vere , The vegetarian Dutch photographer was played by Yvonne O Keeffe Fox. Guards Bernadette and Vince were brought to life by Kevin Enright and Maureen Considine with Danielle Considine , Eoin Diggins, Laura Lavery and Trish Griffin playing paramedics Jane , Paula and Frances and Ben.
These cast members were hand-picked by Mary alongside her assistant director Jerry O Connell. She chose correctly in each case which took time and effort. She as I already mentioned also put together a strong back stage crew that included , Alison Lavery , Laura Lavery , Breda Lavery , Noelle Mc Gibney , Eithne Griffin , Niamh Wall and this author also played a small part as an usher , Trish Healy and Johnny Block Mulvihill were brought on board to construct the set that looked impeccable.
The three nights in Tarbert were fantastic and each audience brought something different to the table , they were full of praise for the work that has been put in since last September which this author must also commend.
To Mary, well done for bringing this dream to life, many people say they would love to do things like this but not many go ahead and do it so congratulations for having the drive to succeed and here’s hoping the crowd in St Johns Listowel have the same appreciation for this play as was seen in the three nights in Tarbert.
To anyone who hasn’t booked and would like to see this Play, please contact St Johns theatre Listowel ASAP as tckets are like goldust.
By
Cian Mc Gibney
01/02/2016