A night‑by‑night guide to what’s on at the All‑Ireland Confined Amateur Drama Finals in Carrickmore

Excitement continues to build as the opening night of the All-Ireland Confined Amateur Drama Finals at the Patrician in Carrickmore draws closer, promising an unforgettable lineup of the best stage productions performed by amateur theatre groups from across the island of Ireland.

Following the official launch of the Finals Festival on 20th February, the full programme of plays to be staged at the Patrician was confirmed after a draw to determine the date of the performance by each of nine qualifying groups was held on Sunday, 29th March. Director of the Festival, Patricia Nugent, and members of the Mid-Ulster Drama Festival have been working hard to ensure that all is ready for the opening night of the festival on Thursday, 9th April and to prepare a fitting welcome for all the groups taking part in this prestigious Finals Festival.

This is only the second time in its history that the Mid-Ulster Drama Festival Committee has hosted the All-Ireland Confined Drama Finals, the first being in April, 1995, thirty-one years ago.

A spokesperson for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, one of the sponsors of this year’s All-Ireland Confined Drama Finals, has described Carrickmore and its environs as ‘a rural area where amateur drama has been a beacon of artistic excellence, community participation and cultural exchange for over 60 years’.

This glowing tribute fittingly recognises the sterling work and achievements of the Mid-Ulster Festival Committee since its inception in 1964 and its ongoing role in promoting drama not just in Mid-Ulster but throughout the Province of Ulster and across the island of Ireland. Thanks to the committee’s efforts, Patrician audiences have been enjoying, year after year, amateur productions of the highest quality from all parts of Ireland.

Festival Programme

Thursday 9 April

Upstage Players, Co. Galway

The Year of the Hiker – John B. Keane

Getting the Festival under way on Thursday 9th April is a drama group from Claremorris, Co. Galway, Upstage Players, with their production of The Year of the Hiker by John B. Keane .Written in 1964 and one of Keane’s best-known works, the play tells the story of The Hiker Lacey, who reappears on the day of his daughter’s wedding, having abandoned home and family twenty years previously. This powerful play explores the effect of Lacey’s desertion on his family, the reaction to his return and the reasons why he left. With its engaging narrative and strong characters, this intriguing play should prove to be a popular Festival opener.

Friday 10 April

Sliabh Aughty Drama Group, Co. Clare

The Outgoing Tide – Bruce Graham

On the second night of the Festival, the Patrician hosts Sliabh Aughty Drama Group from Co. Clare with their production of Bruce Graham’s The Outgoing Tide by, a play which deals with the sensitive topic of Alzheimer’s disease, showing its devastating impact on its victims and on family relationships. With its poignant plot, dark humour and well-drawn characters, this contemporary American drama not only captures the ‘outgoing tide’ that we shall all face but also shows how compassion and love can ease the tragedy of that journey.

Saturday 11 April

Tinahely Variety Group, Co. Wicklow

Moonglow – Kim Carney

Dealing with the impact of Alzheimer’s is also the theme of Moonglow by Kim Carney, which is brought to the Patrician stage on Saturday, 11th April by Tinahely Variety Group from Co. Wicklow. The plot centres on Maxine, a feisty, bitter Alzheimer’s victim who doesn’t want to move into a nursing home. But when she meets Joe, a widower who shares her love for dance, her attitude undergoes a change. Despite its unflinching focus on the cruelty of Alzheimer’s, this play shows that there is also hope and happiness for sufferers and their families.

Sunday 12 April

Enniskillen Theatre Company

Doubt: A Parable – John Paul Shanley

On Sunday 12th April Enniskillen Theatre Company make the relatively short trip to Carrickmore to perform the 2005 Pulitzer-winning play, Doubt: A Parable, written by American playwright, John Paul Shanley. Set in New York in 1964, the play tells the story of a campaign by Sister Aloysisus, the strong-minded conservative principal of a New York Catholic school, to expose one of her teachers, who is also a priest, as a child abuser. This tense psychological drama which examines themes of religion, morality, doubt and uncertainty, promises to deliver an absorbing evening of theatre for the Patrician audience.

Monday 13 April

Gorey Little Theatre, Co. Wexford

Gut – Frances Poet

On Monday 13th April the Patrician welcomes Gorey Little Theatre, a drama group based in Co. Wexford, who are staging their production of Gut, written by Glasgow-based playwright, Frances Poet. First performed at the Traverse Theatre, Scotland in 2018, the play explores parental anxieties about child abuse and the breakdown of trust among family members. Dealing with the sensitive issues of modern parenting and keeping children safe, this timely drama has all the ingredients for a thought-provoking, emotionally charged evening of drama.

Tuesday 14 April

Clones Drama Group

The Playboy of the Western World – J.M. Synge

Tuesday 14th April sees the arrival in Carrickmore of Clones Drama Group with their production of John Millington Synge’s timeless classic, The Playboy of the Western World. First performed at the Abbey Theatre in 1907 the play tells the story of self-proclaimed parricide, Christy Mahon, who is greeted as a hero by a rural community in Co. Mayo when he comes as a fugitive to Michael James Flatherty’s public house on the western coast of Co. Mayo, seeking food and shelter. His skill in telling his ‘gallous story ‘about the way he killed his father impresses everyone, especially Pegeen Mike, O’Flaherty’s daughter, who falls in love with him and he with her. All is going well for Christy but then his father unexpectedly turns up . . .! Recognised as a masterpiece of Irish drama, the performance of this play will, without doubt, be eagerly awaited by the Patrician audience.

Wednesday 15 April

Bualadh Bos Drama Group, Oranmore

From Under the Bed – Seamus O’Rourke

On Wednesday 15th April Oranmore-based Bualadh Bos Drama Group take to the Patrician stage with their production of From Under the Bed, written by Leitrim playwright, Seamus O’Rourke. Set in 1979, the year of the visit of Pope John Paul 11 to Ireland, the play tells the story of two ageing bachelor brothers, Eugene and Pat McParland living together – but also apart – in squalid conditions in rural Ireland. With its exploration of the enduring bonds of brotherhood using a blend of comedy and pathos, heartache and humour, O’Rourke’s play should prove to a be a hit with the Festival audience.

Thursday 16 April

Glenamaddy Players, Co. Galway

Chapatti – Christian O’Reilly

Thursday 16th April sees the welcome return to Carrickmore of Galway-based company, Glenamaddy Players. No strangers to Patrician audiences, this drama group has qualified for the All-Ireland Finals with a production of Chapatti, an engaging and life-affirming play, written by Irish playwright, Christian O’Reilly. The plot unfolds as a heart-warming and wryly humorous look at the lives of two lonely animal lovers in their 60s who quietly yearn for human companionship. Glenamaddy Players’ presentation of this story of a late-in-life romance will be keenly anticipated by Festival patrons.

Friday 17 April

Memory Lane Theatre, Co. Kerry

Heaven – Eugene O’Brien

Closing the performance component of the Festival on Friday 17th April is Memory Lane Theatre from Co. Kerry who are presenting Heaven by award-winning playwright Eugene O’Brien. Described by The Guardian as an ‘exquisitely written play’ and winner of the 2023 Irish Times Award for Best New Play, Heaven is set in the Irish midlands during the weekend of a local wedding. Wedding attendees, Mairead, a social worker and Mal, a teacher with a deep religious faith, are struggling to keep their own marriage together. The tensions in their relationship come to a head on the night of wedding. This compelling, powerful play will be a fitting finale to the All-Ireland Confined Finals Festival, 2026.

Tickets for the All-Ireland Confined Finals can be booked through the festival box office, operating daily from 10am to 4pm. The box office telephone number is 028 8076 1906.

The event is sponsored by Nugent’s Corner Bar, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and supported by Arts Council of Northern Ireland, along with local business sponsors.