Connemara drama company keeps culture and language alive

As it celebrates its fifteenth year, Fíbín is one of the few remaining Irish language theatre companies – and its dedication to the arts as Gaeilge has been steadfast from day one.

Despite a severe lack of funding and a sometimes limited audience, what Fíbín has achieved is nothing short of remarkable – having brought over 40 original productions to 150,000 people, all from its modest base in Inverin.

Managing Director of Fíbín, Darach Ó Tuairisg, says it has been “a rollercoaster ride” since they started back in 2003 – with only his bedroom for a base.

“Sometimes I forget how much we’ve done, the people we have worked with and the amount of stuff that we have turned out over the years.

“We have done anything up to five shows a year – this year we will be doing three; we have a base level of three a year but there have been years where we have toured shows for a second time,” says Darach.

In the beginning, Fíbín set out to do one show aimed at a young audience – but the response to was positive enough to give them a thirst for more.

“There was no Irish language theatre coming from the main theatres and that show did really well; we actually still work with some of the people that were there in the beginning,” says Darach.

“That show worked so we said, ‘let’s do something for teenagers’, and it grew from there.”

Much of the success Fíbín has had over the years is its approach to the language, explains Darach, with accessibility always to the fore when producing a show.

“Our work is based on highly visual productions that people can enjoy, even if they don’t have the language.

“We are not trying to teach people, or to force the language on them, and that approach has stood the test of time – I am reluctant to say it but I think that we are the last in the country; and that is not something we’re happy about,” says Darach.

A large element of Fíbín’s work continues to be productions for students – from primary, through secondary and right up to third level.

According to Darach, this area of their work has won them many plaudits – particularly as it’s an opportunity for students to see a play taken from a school setting and brought to life, outside the confines of the classroom.

“We stick with the visual aspects and always have high production values; no show is more than 90 minutes which is key in the age of the internet,” laughs Darach.

“When you take the text off the page and put it in front of people in an encouraging way, the response is usually very positive.

“Even if students aren’t into the arts, you are giving them a way to visualise those texts off of the page,” he adds.

See full feature in Community Matters – only in this week’s Connacht Tribune.