Unique show offers a fresh take on 1916

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

A group of Galway actors will offer a unique interpretation of events leading up to 1916 when they take to the streets of the Latin Quarter next week for The Galway Whispers Revolution.

This free family show is the brainchild of actor and writer Seamus Hughes, who has a keen interest in history and wanted to “do something to mark 1916”.

He quotes the line from Oscar Wilde’s play Lady Windermere’s Fan that “history is merely gossip” and explains that it was the starting point for the show.

South and East Galway was a hotbed of rebellion in 1916, and this area had the largest insurrection outside of Dublin. Between 600 and 800 IRB members marched openly in the St Patrick’s Day Parade of 1916 – the figure depends on who you talk to, says Seamus, who adds that this public parading by IRB members was akin to open rebellion.

Alongside that, however, Galway was a garrison town, where businesses were heavily dependent on the British army and Royal Irish Constabulary, says Séamus, who hails from the City.

“So what must have been like for the lads and women in the IRB and Cumann na mBan planning a revolution? Britain was at the height of its power as an empire before the war started. Its army and navy were everywhere.

“You had soldiers walking around Galway and lots of people from Galway in the army, so not everyone would have been delighted with revolution.

“In that situation, who do you trust?”

He is aiming to recreate that tension – with a bit of humour thrown in – as a group of six actors re-enact the clandestine meetings that happened around Galway during this time.

The cast for the show includes Seamus and other local actors Páraic Breathnach, Eoin Geoghegan Feilim Ó hAoláin, Neasa Ní Chunaigh.

Next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, at 12 noon, 3pm and 5pm The Galway Whispers Revolution will take to the streets of the Latin Quarter with dramatic scenes on the streets, spilling into various local bars including; Tigh CHóilí, Tigh Neachtain, The Dáil Bar, The Front Door, Taaffes, the Quays Bar, The Kings Head and Sonny Molloy’s.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune