Arts Week with Judy Murphy

It’s more often associated with high drama but President Catherine Connolly found Druid Theatre a haven of peace on October 25, the day she was elected Uachtaráin na hÉireann. A brief haven, she stressed.

“I ran in here for a beautiful five minutes for a black coffee after being elected. I was on the run from photographers and journalists,” said the President, whose former Galway West constituency office was located right around the corner from the renowned theatre company.

“Thanks to Druid for that,” she said to much laughter on Sunday evening when she was guest of honour at a party to mark the company’s 50th anniversary and the official launch of a new book on the company by Professor Patrick Lonergan.

The theatre and the adjoining Kombu Restaurant were packed to the rafters as President Connolly praised the company founders, Garry Hynes, Marie Mullen and the late Mick Lally for their “bold idea” of creating the country’s first professional theatre company outside Dublin.

“Galway was always dramatic. I think what they did was shape the drama in a creative innovative way and were never afraid to take risks.”

Druid was, she stressed, one of the few professional Irish theatre companies to reach its 50th anniversary.

“Anocht is ocáid cheiliúradh amach is amach go bhfuil siad fós ar an bhfód.” Not just that, but going from strength to strength, said President Connolly.

While Galway was renowned for scenery and quaintness, back in 1975 “it wasn’t a player in the cultural or economic narrative of the country. Druid redefined Galway’s very identity”.

A company that “was never afraid to take risks . . . gave the city a renewed raison d’être, made it a centre of gravity that would attract a whole range of people as well as entrepreneurs and international attention”.

Its courage and success helped a wider cultural ecosystem to emerge, added President Connolly.

“I say this cautiously, but Galway’s eventual selection as European Capital of Culture in 2020 can be traced directly back to Druid’s foundational role in defining Galway as a city where art matters, where culture is central and flourishing.”

She congratulated the author of the book on Druid’s 50th, Professor Lonergan, and there was laughter when she suggested he “might look at the Galway’s tenure as European Capital of Culture at some time in the future, or some other or other academic might take up the challenge”.

Looking back further, she observed that in the 1970s, resources for building a theatre company were scarce and “the support of the community was a major factor in the success of Druid”.

Pictured: A party was held at Druid Lane on Sunday to mark half-a-century of Druid Theatre and officially launch the new book, Druid Theatre: 50 Years. The book’s author, Patrick Lonergan, is pictured with Druid’s Artistic Director, Garry Hynes, and actor, Marie Mullen. Marie, Garry and the late Mick Lally  founded Druid in 1975.