Doonbeg festival to shine as it celebrates diamond anniversary

The West Clare Drama Festival in Doonbeg will be celebrating its 60th anniversary this March with plans to mark the milestone, writes Conor Clohessy.

Commenting at the recent AGM, Chairperson John Keane said: “We are delighted to have reached our Diamond Jubilee. This is a significant milestone which has been achieved and maintained through the hard work and commitment of committees passing the mantle of keeping drama alive down through the years.

“We are fortunate to still have three members of the original committee – Marie Shanahan, John Igoe and Murt McInerney.”

Only a couple of weeks ago, a fourth original member passed away; Theresa McMahon had been the Secretary for over forty years, and Public Relations Officer Rita McInerney said that her passing will be poignant within the celebrations this year.

In the middle of the festival on March 8, a dinner is planned to specifically mark the sixtieth anniversary and reward those who have worked hard in the festival for decades.

The Palace Players will open the festival with Chapatti by Christian O’Reilly, and will be followed by Kilworth Dramatic Society producing A Quiet Moment by Mike Finn on March 6.

On March 10, Corofin Dramatic Society will be performing Betrayal by Harold Pinter, while Skibbereen Theatre Society are set to show Jim Nolan’s Brighton the day after.

The closing weekend of the festival is scheduled to show Kilmeen Drama Group performing Conversations on a Homecoming by Tom Murphy on Saturday 12, and Clann Machua Drama Group performing Sive by John B Keane on Sunday 13.

Rita added drama festivals are great for rural communities, beginning to rehearse in the winter and overlapping each other throughout the year to entertain the smaller parishes around the country.

“We have three generations working in the festival, people in their teenage years all the way to their eighties. It’s a great sign for an organisation in terms of longevity, but it’s still not easy. It costs tens of thousands to run the festival, and we’re very grateful for the sponsorship we receive from businesses in the area and from our patrons, who contribute to keeping the festival healthy.”

Tiered seating was built for the All-Ireland Drama Festival 2019, which was held in Doonbeg, and while it was made available in 2020 as well, the pandemic shut the festival down; however, the seating will be used again this year to account for their hope to draw large crowds.

Over the decades, some things have stayed the same within the festival; professional adjudicators are still hired to judge the performances, though the marking system has been altered to account for larger budgets in some cases.

The festival is governed by the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland, so there are rules and regulations that move with the times, particularly from a technical point of view, as technology developed throughout the decades.

Rita recalled: “My father would often say the 1970s were the leanest years of the festival, when dance halls and cinemas began to grow more popular, and in the 60s, biscuit boxes and 150watt bulbs were used to light the stage and barrels from the pub to build it.

“Thankfully, those days are gone and we have a community hall since the ‘90s with the dimensions of a theatre stage. Not every group has a venue like that, and it’s all thanks to local organisations and community work.”

Lighting, presentations, and sets have become even more important to the festival with the progression of props and technology, more capable now to transport the audience to a particular time and place.

Rita emphasised that the camaraderie and hospitality of the Irish drama scene, which she claims is very like a family; through festivals and competitions, each group has made connections with dozens of others and understands that even the competitive times serve to develop Irish drama above all else and express a unified love for it.

This comes through in how adjudicators now give feedback; they are as critical as always, but instead of voicing concerns in the public adjudication, they now save those shortcomings for private sessions, wishing to foster an encouraging atmosphere free of embarrassment.

Rita explained: “We have two categories, Open and Confined, which work as a first and second division of sorts. Groups can start in the Open category and maybe progress into the Confined category with practice, and each category has its own set of All-Ireland finals.

“The way that professionals engage with amateurs, regardless, has changed. In modern times, we are doing this to develop our friendships through drama, and we’re delighted to be able to carry it on to coming generations, especially for remote communities around the country just like West Clare.”