Sean Rocks R.I.P.

Like most people involved in the arts in Ireland, we were shocked this morning to learn of the sudden and untimely death of Seán Rocks.

Best known as the presenter of Arena on RTE Radio 1, he is also warmly remembered as an actor, a teacher and presenter on Lyric FM. We in Allingham always knew Seán as a staunch and insightful supporter of what we were trying to do.

In 2019 we paid tribute to the playwright, Frank McGuinness with a revival of his play, The Breadman. Seán conducted the keynote interview with the great man showing his familiar depth of knowledge and ease of manner.

Two years later, he brought those same skills to an interview with Stephen Rea. The chat ranged from the global stories of big movies to shared anecdotes of their experiences as actors with Field Day Theatre Company.

Seán's deep knowledge expressed in such friendly tones will be missed by all involved in the arts in Ireland and further afield. Our deepest condolences to his colleagues, friends and, most especially, his family.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Ann Drummond, R.I.P.

Last week we in the Allingham Committee received news we had all expected yet dreaded for some time. Here, Carl Duggan remembers our dear friend, Ann Drummond.

It was totally appropriate that both the Donegal and Galway flags flew proudly outside the home of Ann and Sean Drummond on the day of Ann’s wake. For though Ann was of Galway she had for the past 46 years been equally at home in Donegal and was proud to call Ballyshannon her home. Ann arrived here in 1979 after qualifying as a Home Economics teacher in St. Angela’s College in Sligo and started her career in the Sacred Heart School.

As well as being a wonderful teacher Ann was a mentor and role model for generations of students who were lucky enough to come under her influence. She gave them a great work ethic and organisational skills which would stand to them for life.

All this was done in her usual kindly manner which affirmed each person’s abilities. The many comments from former students in the online condolence pages bear this out very well. When Colaiste Cholmcille opened in 2001 Ann transferred her talents seamlessly across College Street to the new campus.

As well as playing a full part in all aspects of school life Ann. was also very involved in the social and cultural life of Ballyshannon and in the past number of years we on the Allingham Festival Committee have benefitted greatly from Ann joining us. A tireless worker. If Ann Drummond had a job to do you could be certain that it would be done and done without the slightest bit of fuss. She was a great asset to our organisation and we will miss her greatly from that point of view.

But we will mostly miss Ann Drummond the person. It is hard to imagine that we will never again see her arrive into a room with her ready smile and cheery greeting. We will miss all her ‘’little, nameless, acts of kindness’’ which were so much part of who she was. That is how we will recall Ann in the years to come.

Codladh sámh a chara uasal

We on the Allingham Festival Committee send our deepest condolences to Seán, Shane (Rachael), Niamh (Mikey), Ruairí (Kellyann), Donncha, Níadh and the extended Drummond and McDonagh families.

<Picture data-preserve-html-node="true" by Brian O’Droma of Ann seated in Allingham Arts Centre between Sean McGinley and Sally Stephens, surrounded by other members of the Allingham Committee>

Remembering: Brian Friel

On October 2, 2015. Donegal and the world lost one of the greatest, most prolific writers of our time. We in the Allingham Festival have a number of plans to mark this poignant anniversary under an umbrella title of "Remembering: Brian Friel". We'll keep you posted as the plans come together but, for now, we'd like to invite you to join us in the celebration of his life. What are your memories of Brian Friel? Did you see Liam Neeson on the Ballyshannon stage in the original production of Translations? Perhaps you saw the Butt Drama Circle bring their version to the Drama Festival? Did you take to the stage yourself in one of his many plays? Where did it happen? Were you in Glenties the night of the famous revival of Dancing at Lughnasa, after which, legend has it, Meryl Streep was to be seen sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Highlands Hotel enthralled with the locals' stories? Please share your memories, big or small, with us. You can add comments to our Facebook post, use the Contact page or just email us at allinghamfest@gmail.com We'd love to hear from you.

The Frances Browne Literary Festival

We send all best wishes to our sister event in the Twin Towns, the Frances Browne Literary Festival as they launch their writing competitions. They deserve great credit for their unique approach in holding writing competitions in Irish, English, and Ulster-Scots.

For details, application forms, etc. drop over to their web-site

One of these years, we'll have to have a get-together to discuss the great mystery of Donegal Literature - how did Frances and William not know each other? Both poets born in Donegal and died in England over very similar life spans (give or take a decade). William was friendly with Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was known to be a major influence on Frances. All three of them were frequently published in The Atheneum. Yet, not only do they not seem to have met, I can see no indication that they were even aware of each other. Curious!

Anyway, we look forward to the imminent announcement of the full 2025 programme for the festival which runs in Ballybofey and Stranorlar, 9-12 October.

Congratulations, Tom and Monica!

And the good news keeps coming. Two great friends of the Allingham Festival, Tom Sigafoos and Monica Corish have both made it to the Fiction Longlist for the Carousel Awards for Irish Independent Authors, 2025, under the patronage of Paul Lynch.

Tom's Pool of Darkness: Raymond Chandler in Ireland, imagines a 1948 encounter between crime novelist Chandler and philosopher Wittgenstein in a remote corner of County Galway. As the two notoriously-reclusive men develop an unlikely friendship, they stumble into a conspiracy that involves former Nazis, the US House Un-American Activities Committee, and a cat belonging to the widow of William Butler Yeats. Novelist, Theo Dorgan describes the book as "... a gem and a joy" and we don't disagree.

We've already written about Monica's novel, “LeafLight Moon – a novel of prehistoric Ireland” which will be launched at this year's Allingham Festival on Sunday, November 9th. Final results of the CAP Awards will be announced in October so we're hoping for major celebrations.