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	Our History
	Hawk's Well Theatre - Twenty One Years (2003)
	The Hawk's Well Theatre - A New Theatre For Sligo (1981)
	For You ...... The Audience ...... From the Groups (1979)
	All-Ireland Drama Festival (1979)
	A Theatre For Sligo (1974)

Our History

The Sligo Drama Circle was founded in October 1956 to promote good standards of community theatre and increase the range of plays available to Sligo audiences. The first play was produced in November 1956 and since then, the Circle has produced the works of major Irish, European and American playwrights. The group has won awards all over Ireland including the three "majors" -  the Ulster Drama Cup in May 1967 at the Opera House, Belfast with J. M. Synge's "The Playboy of the Western World"; the All-Ireland Esso Trophy in April 1970 with Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire"; the All-Ireland One Act Play section in Naas in 1972 with "The Pot of Broth" by W. B. Yeats.  The Circle also achieved an excellent second place in the All-Ireland with its first production of "Thy Dear Father". Apart from the great win in 1970, the Drama Circle has reached the All-Ireland final nine times, has been second on three occasions and third twice. The Circle has also had a long association with the Sligo Yeats Society, performing the plays of W. B. Yeats and other writers of the Irish Literary Renaissance at the Summer School from 1966 to the early 1990's.

After an early itinerant existence, the Circle rented a small store in the Market Yard in 1966. This provided a homely atmosphere for rehearsals and storage space. New activities were then introduced - play readings, socials and even an art exhibition. With the help and co-operation of both the North-Western Regional Tourism Organisation and the Sligo Yeats Society the Drama Circle was enabled for some years to present summer theatre in Sligo which typically ran from June to mid-September. The late sixties and seventies were quite productive years in this respect.

It then became quite apparent to the Drama Circle that their work was severely handicapped for want of a permanent theatre. While the available halls in Sligo were adequate for the presentation of plays, the lack of a properly equipped theatre made rehearsal and experimental work very difficult. For this reason, in 1970 the group launched a "Theatre For Sligo" project which sought to provide a properly equipped and professionally run theatre for both players and audiences in Sligo. In February 1974, Bishop Dominic Conway announced his intention to present a site on Temple Street to the Drama Circle for the purpose of building a new theatre. This was a huge step forward for the Drama Circle. Much fund-raising was done and profit from summer seasons went towards this visionary project. This eventually came to a successful conclusion in January 1982 with the opening of the Hawk's Well Theatre, on a site shared with Donegal - Sligo - Leitrim Tourism. The theatre was named after the play by W. B. Yeats which has been produced many times by the Circle. In the programme notes of our March 1982 show we made the following comment:

"We hope that the Sligo Drama Circle and the Hawk's Well Theatre will have a long and happy association and that the words of Yeats about his own Hawk's Well be prophetically true - 'He who drinks, they say, of that miraculous water lives forever' ".

Plays have been presented by the Drama Circle in the Town Hall, The Hawk's Well Theatre, The Factory Performance Space, Holy Cross Friary, Fr. Flanagan Hall (Summerhill College), Scoil Ursula, the Gillooly Hall, upstairs in Beezies (lunch-time theatre) and, of course, in the Drama Circle's new rehearsal/performance space in the Market Yard.

For many years, the Circle also made a special effort to produce one of the plays on the Leaving Certificate curriculum for secondary school students. This gave the students an opportunity to see a play transform from simple words on a page to living words on the stage. Such productions included "The Playboy of the Western World","Juno and the Paycock" and "The Plough and the Stars".

Hawk's Well Theatre - Twenty-One Years

extract from "Hawk's Well Theatre - Twenty-One Years" by Jamie Carswell, January 2003

A principal player in this movement to create "A Theatre For Sligo" was the Sligo Drama Circle who worked diligently for years raising funds and support for the construction of a permanent theatre. Though faced with many setbacks the Drama Circle made a great stride forward in 1974 when it successfully lobbied the then Bishop Dr. Dominic Conway to grant them the plot of land on Temple Street where the current Hawk's Well stands. On the strength of this the company focused on raising funds to begin construction: sourcing funding possibilities, courting Sligo's business community for support, and seeking professional advice on possible government grant options. At the same time, the Irish government was mounting a concerted effort to de-centralise the arts in Ireland. There were already a number of strong Irish touring companies and other permanently housed companies eager to tour. The changing face and rising profile of the arts in Ireland meant that theatre companies were eager to arrange regional tours and anxious to have access to the best possible facilities. When the Sligo Drama Circle's plan for a theatre in Sligo was presented to the Arts Council of Ireland, the Arts Council saw an opportunity and made them an offer.

The Arts Council along with North West Tourism, The Sligo County Council and Sligo Borough Council recognised this need for a designated, well-equipped cultural centre in Sligo and offered to find the funding to build and maintain a theatre on the Temple Street site. They stipulated that the theatre would be professionally run according to Arts Council standards and would have a remit broad enough to facilitate the touring professional performing artists as well as community arts groups. The Sligo Drama Circle agreed, signed over the land, and soon after construction began on the first purpose-built theatre west of the Shannon. When the Hawk's Well opened in January 1982, many groups, both amateur and professional rushed in to fill the void.

The official opening on January 12th 1982 was presided over by then president Patrick Hillery in a gala evening that included performances by the Sligo Drama Circle, the Sligo Choral Society, Sligo Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and, in the theatre's inaugural production, Druid Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing".

The Hawk's Well Theatre - A New Theatre for Sligo

from Programme Notes, Sligo Drama Circle, 1981

January 1982 will mark an important turning point in the cultural life of Sligo, with the opening of the Hawk's Well - a purpose built 300 seat theatre which promises a year round programme of drama, music and film. Sligo has been renowned for decades as a place with a very large following for drama. Visiting theatre companies - such as the Irish Theatre Company - have commented on this, and the box-office figures of the various local amateur groups, including the Sligo Drama Circle, bears testimony. Now, with the modern facility of the Hawk's Well, conveniently located in Temple Street, at last both performers and audience will enjoy their interest in theatre in the warmth and comfort which is their just reward after enduring years of cramped dressing rooms, cold draughty halls and hard seats.

For You .... The Audience ..... From The Groups

from All-Ireland Drama Festival Programme, Sligo, May 1979

Welcome to the play. Dead words from a printed page are now a live world at the bright end of a darkened room. And it's all yours. Nobody can ever really say, "I saw this one before", because you never did see this. This is one vision of one happening, one group's opening up to an idea, and with the best ones you don't know what's going to happen. DANGER: PEOPLE AT WORK.

And how many people there are. Up there on the stage you see some, but you don't see them all. You may know about the directors, the actors, the set designers, you may even catch a glimpse of a stage manager, but unless you have been with them through the past weeks and months you won't begin to understand. You have never met the hangers-up of posters, the standers in cold box-offices, the movers of chairs and usherers to seats, the hammerers of nails and takers of notes, the visitors to rehearsals and drivers of cars, the writers of letters and climbers of ladders, the makers of sounds and lighters of lights, the painters of canvas and lenders of props. They are the real people, the ones without whom it won't all hang together, the ones who must not be forgotten.

Welcome

from All-Ireland Drama Festival Programme, Sligo, May 1979

Sligo Drama Circle is happy to host the 1979 All-Ireland Festival Finals (Confined). The stage in Sligo has a long tradition dating back to 1750 (at least) when a theatre "near the quays" is recorded. Late the location changed to "near the Linen-Hall" (near the present Imperial Hotel) and we are told that "His Majesty's servants from the Theatre Royal, Crow Street, Dublin" visited Sligo each season and in some instances remained several months. The Town Hall (now the City Hall) - near the quay - is an appropriate venue for the Festival. It is considered by many that it was in this building that the modern Drama Festival was initiated by Feis Shligigh which has just celebrated its Golden jubilee this Easter.

A Theatre For Sligo

from Summer Theatre Programme, Sligo Drama Circle, 1974

Sligo Drama Circle was founded in 1956 to promote higher standards in local drama and to increase the range of plays available to Sligo audiences. Since then the Drama Circle has produced plays by major Irish, European and American playwrights and is recognised as one of the leading provincial companies. It has won numerous awards for its productions including the supreme award in Northern Ireland in 1967 for Synge's  "The Playboy of the Western World" and the All-Ireland Esso trophy for its presentation of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1970.

In 1966 the Drama Circle was invited to perform plays by Yeats as part of the programme of the Yeats International Summer School. Arising out of this commitment, the group embarked on a series of short summer seasons of plays by Irish authors. In 1970 it was decided to extend the summer season as a contribution to Sligo's tourist industry and Summer Theatre  came into being.

The need for a permanent theatre has been felt  for many years now, and the Drama Circle have been working towards the day when "A Theatre For Sligo" would become a reality. A great stride was taken towards that goal was taken when, in February this year, Bishop Dominic Conway announced his intention to present a site for the theatre to the Drama Circle. This magnificent site is a perfect garden setting alongside the two Cathedrals. It is worthy of a theatre which will grace this already lovely old town. We aim to make it so - a theatre of great beauty - to serve the whole community of our region; a theatre which will give pleasure to all our population and to the many visitors who come each year to our Summer Season. It will be a theatre which will be a source of pride to many Sligomen living abroad who cherish their native town. For the students of our schools and colleges and for those who come from all over the world to the Yeats International Summer School, it will provide a valuable addition to the existing educational facilities.

Already, Sligo people, both at home and abroad, have enthusiastically supported this project and funds are coming in to ensure that within a short time, Sligo will have a theatre of its own. If you like the idea of a community co-operating to provide a beautiful new theatre, or if Sligo has a special place in your heart for any reason, do please help in this project.

Programme Notes

Roscommon Drama Festival, March 1961

Sligo Drama Circle, founded in August 1956, with a membership of ten, had their initial production, Gerard Healy's "Thy Dear Father". They were runners up in the three act open class in Athlone in 1957 (Ballyshannon nomination). Louis Dalton's "Money Doesn't Matter" was their choice in 1958. The best actor and actress awards at Ballyshannon were awarded to two members of the cast. They secured a nomination to Athlone from the Ballinrobe festival. In 1959 he group presented Donagh Mc Donagh's spectacular play "God's Gentry" which proved to be highly a successful production - securing more than twelve awards (individual and collective) at various festivals including the Three Act Open and Verse Play Awards in Athlone (Cavan nomination).

"Montserrat", heir choice for 1960, and their biggest challenge to date, is a play rarely undertaken by amateurs, but the Circle has good reason to be proud of its achievements during the past year with three first prizes (at Roscommon, Cavan and Limerick), three second prizes (at Bundoran, Ballyshannon and Navan) and one third prize at (Tubbercurry) to its credit. In addition, they secured the production awards at four festivals (Roscommon, Limerick, Bundoran and Navan) and three gold medals for the Best Actor at the Roscommon, Navan and Cavan Festivals were awarded to Tom Hayes, Eddie Mc Dermottroe and Paddy Dooney respectively; several certificates of acting were also awarded to the group. Unfortunately, however, due to illness, the group were unable to compete at Athlone in the All-Ireland Festival last year.