Arts Week with Judy Murphy

The multi-award winning Upstage Players from Claremorris will bring Conor McPherson’s The Weir to the Mall Theatre in Tuam this week, ahead of their All-Ireland Final performance.

McPherson’s much-loved play will be staged in the Tuam venue this Thursday and Friday night, April 10 and 11, at 8pm. Admission is €15 and tickets are available from Quinn’s in Tuam, as well as on the door each night.

A gripping story from beginning to end, The Weir is set in rural Ireland in 1997.

In Brendan’s pub, above the town, locals are gathering for their daily pint, but their normal routine is shaken up when an attractive stranger, Valerie, arrives.

The night progresses, and they start sharing tales of ghostly happenings . . . but what starts as innocent boasting and bravado turns serious when the stranger reveals a real, haunted tale of her own.

Upstage Players were established in 2024  and while the group is based in Claremorris, it attracts members from across the region, with North Galway well represented in The Weir.

Although relatively new to the circuit, the group’s actors and crew are well-known in drama circles all over the West and beyond.

Dunmore’s Ollie Turner plays Finbar in The Weir, with Tim Oates from Claremorris as Jack. Aishling Costello, also from Claremorris, takes on the role of Valerie, while Ollie Barrett (on loan from Mayo to Milltown) plays Jim, and Donegal native Jourdain Cunningham, who lives in Balla, takes on the role of Brendan.

Pictured: The arrival of Valerie to the local pub changes everything in Conor McPherson’s The Weir. It’s being presented by the award-winning Upstage Theatre Players from Claremorris ahead of their appearance in the All-Ireland Confined Drama Finals.