Tag Archives: Paul Brennan

SCARIFF GAA Hall will be the venue for a dramatic ‘court’ case on Saturday night, November 19. The newly refurbished and extended hall will host Gerard Howard performing Brian Merriman’s The Midnight Court in an exciting one-man show, directed by Paul Brennan.  Written around 1780, Brian Merriman’s comic poem is set on the shores of Lough Graney. A classic of early modern Irish poetry, its themes include sex, gender roles and the manifestation of a God.  In The Midnight Court, the bachelor poet Merriman is put on trial for the crime of never getting married. The women of Ireland have him up before a court in Feakle, presided over by the Goddess Aoibheal, who demands him to account for this outrageous oversight. Gerard Howard, a Clare native will switch roles from Merriman to maiden, from old codger to goddess, from harridan to 18-foot tall bailiff, exposing the shortcomings of the men of Ireland. Not even the clergy escape Merriman’s scabrous …

Meetings of Clare’s most famous names is the premise for a one-man show to be staged in the north and east of the county later this year. Lisdoonvarna man Gerry Howard will star in the performance Hats Off To Clare, written and directed by Mountshannon resident, Paul Brennan. The production will explore the imagined interactions of Clare’s most famous factual and fictional characters. Gerry was involved in amateur drama for years before taking the leap into professional acting and it was around the time he decided to leave his career as a hotelier that the seed was sown for this particular production. “I was always involved in amateur acting. I think I started around the age of 12. I was involved in plays with the Lisdoonvarna Dramatic Society and was involved right up to when I sold the hotel, The Carrigann in Lisdoonvarna. When I sold it, it seemed to be a great opportunity to have a cut at something …