Remembering: Brian Friel

Through the late summer and autumn this year, this part of Ireland has had some wonderful opportunities to appreciate the writing of Brian Friel. There have been a host of events marking the 10th anniversary of the death of this wonderful writer.

It has, of course, been focused on his beloved Ballybeg, otherwise known as Glenties but performances and readings have radiated out to Derry, Dunlewy and Sion Mills to name just a few places. Now the Allingham festival offers one more opportunity to applaud the great man.

“Remembering: Brian Friel” is an hour-long celebration of Friel’s writing focusing on the theme of “memory”. It opens with Friel’s words in his own voice through a “self-portrait” from BBC Northern Ireland, recorded in the 70s. This is followed by a specially adapted version of his short story Among the Ruins, depicting a young family’s Sunday outing with all the trials and joys that can bring.

Faith Healer is regarded by many as Friel’s true masterpiece and there will be excerpts from all four of the monologues which beautifully prove that shared experiences don’t always lead to shared memories.

A particular treat will be the achingly beautiful final scene of Brian Friel’s first great theatrical hit, Philadelphia Here I Come! and the event will close with wistful memories of Dancing at Lughnasa.

This very special anniversary event is curated by Michael McMullin, who, last year, memorably brought William Allingham, himself, back to Ballyshannon. He will be joined on stage by very familiar members of Ballyshannon Drama Society including Richard Hurst, Trish Keane, Ronan Drummond, Kevin Lilly, Troy Devaney, Regina Fahey and Mary Hoey.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Brian Friel Centre which has many exciting plans to commemorate the man in the aforesaid Glenties. Whether you are a lifelong fan of his work or don’t yet realise how much you love it, please come along and join us at 4:30 PM, November 9th in the Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon.

Bookings:

Primary School Shortlists

We are so grateful to the young people and teachers who are so loyal to our Primary Schools Competitions every year. It's a privilege and a pleasure for us to see and read the work of these bright young creatives.

This evening it's our huge pleasure to announce the short lists. To every single individual on these lists, congratulations and very best wishes for the competition.

And to those for whom this wasn't your year, please, please, do come back and try again next year.

Shauna Mullin and Alan Colfer (with Mark Langan)

We are delighted to have the wonderful Shauna Mullin in concert. Shauna is one of the foremost singers on the Irish folk music scene and her repertoire ranges from the Ulster Song Cycle to the work of Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell with a dash of sean nos thrown in. She comes from a family steeped in music and always delights audiences wherever she performs.
Accompanying Shauna will be the virtuoso guitar player Alan Colfer. A highly regarded exponent of fingerstyle guitar Alan has played extensively around Europe and he draws influence from music the world over. He teaches at The Irish World Academy of Music in Limerick . As a taster for this concert we're excited to share this video specially recorded for Allingham. Your old Simon and Garfunkel albums will never sound the same!

Opening for Shauna we have Mark Langan. Anyone who has heard guitarist Mark play will be well aware of the musical treat that is in store for us tonight as we introduce his latest album Spellbound is Mark’s second album and, in his own words, has been in the making for the past 20 years. Tonight we will have a specially shot film to go with the wonderful music on the album.

This will surely whet the appetite for the live launch which will take place in the near future.

This is a must see gig. Friday, November, 7th, 8.00pm, Abbey Arts Centre, Theatre 1 Admission €15

Lady Morgan and Lola Montez.

Lady Morgan and Lola Montez. An imagined conversation.
Written by the hugely talented Maura Logue and performed by Marianne Fahy and Maura Logue, Dark Daughter Productions bring us this compelling piece of theatre which gives us a glimpse into the lives of two wild Irish girls of the North West. They followed their dreams and achieved fame and fortune against all the odds in the male dominated world of the early 1800s. This highly entertaining imagined conversation has them meeting up later in life and recalling their many escapades and romantic conquests.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7th 7.00 pm Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon Theatre 3. €10

Bookings:

Congratulations, Monica

For those of you who have been following our updates on the Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors, we have been remiss in not passing on the exciting news of the final result. We are delighted to announce that our good friend, Monica Corish, not only took the prize for best Fiction novel, but also received the overall Golden CAP Award for the best independently published book. Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch announced the Golden CAP award in a short video

LeafLight Moon evokes the story of the fateful encounter between the First Farmers and the hunter-gatherers who had lived in Ireland for thousands of years.

Copies are readily available from A Novel Idea, Ballyshannon; Liber Books, Sligo; Four Masters Bookstore, Donegal Town; and Chapters Bookstore and Books Upstairs, Dublin. On-line sources include The Lulu Bookstore and Amazon.ie for paperback and Kindle versions.

Monica will read from LeafLight Moon on Saturday, 1 November in the Glens Centre, Manorhamilton. She will also launch the novel in conversation with another old friend of the festival, memoirist Olive Travers at the 2025 Allingham Festival on Sunday 9 Nov at 1:30 pm in the Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon.