Sligo Drama Circle is an amateur drama group formed in 1956 to provide live theatre to the Sligo public. With the disappearance of the professional theatre companies from the Irish scene at the time, and the reluctance of the National Theatre to undertake provincial tours, the amateur movement across the country began to fill this […]
Sligo Drama Circle made its bow to the public for the first time on Sunday night, November 18th 1956. The Town Hall in Sligo was the venue for their presentation of Gerard Healy’s “Thy Dear Father”. However, the seeds of the Drama Circle were sown in the existing Sligo Unknown Players, a successful group who […]
During the 1970’s Sligo Drama Circle recognised the need for a purpose built theatre in Sligo which would be used for rehearsing and performing plays and engaging in experimental theatre. This led to the setting up of what became known as the “Little Theatre” project or “A Theatre For Sligo” project. The Drama Circle presented […]
The Young People’s Theatre group of the Sligo Drama Circle was set up in April 2005 with three specific aims: To promote theatre and drama with young people in the Sligo area To give young people a creative voice To develop contacts between young people and the Sligo Drama Circle The broad overall aim is […]
Sligo Drama Circle will mark its 70th Anniversary with “Stage Memories”, an exhibition of posters, programmes, photographs, costumes, props and memorabilia for Culture Night 2026. Join us in our Market Yard premises (beside Montmartre restaurant F91 EVK4) on Culture Night, Friday September 18th any time between 7-9pm and take a nostalgic look through our archives charting our dramatic journey […]
November 18th marks the 70th anniversary of the very first Sligo Drama Circle production, when we appeared on the stage of the Town Hall for our very first performance, “Thy Dear Father” by Gerard Healy. Now, Sligo Drama Circle is marking the occasion of our 70th Anniversary with the launch of a new book detailing […]
This summer, we have introduced a series of Table Reads to give people a chance to see if they would really like to take on a role in a play. The informal evenings allow participants to participate in a read-through of a complete play, taking turns to read different roles or to sit back and […]
We are delighted to announce that our 70th Anniversary celebrations will continue this November in the Hawk’s Well Theatre with a production of the comedy-drama, “Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling. Directed by Ann Marie Byrne, the play, first staged in 1987, went on to be made into a successful 1989 movie of the same name […]
Now that the final curtain has dropped on our 2026 production of Roddy Doyle’s “The Snapper”, we’d just like to say a huge “Thank You” to the Sligo audiences who came out to support us this week in such huge numbers in the Hawk’s Well Theatre for the production. Five Sold Out shows in advance […]
We continue our seasonal offerings marking the start of our 70th anniversary celebrations with a revival of our recordings of 12 different poems all with a Christmas theme. Following on from successful recordings of “A Christmas Carol” and “The Age Old Message”, we have decided to re-release our series of seasonal poems over the Christmas […]
We in Sligo Drama Circle were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Lionel Gallagher this week. Lionel was a long-standing member of Sligo Drama Circle and was active in many roles within the group for more than 50 years. But it was on the stage where he belonged and where he excelled. Lionel […]
On this day 46 years ago (January 14th), we were performing the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” in the Town Hall. The production ran for 11 nights in 1979, beginning on Sunday January 14th at 8pm in the Town Hall. The Booking Office was in the Yeats Memorial Building and tickets cost £1.30 for adults […]
We in Sligo Drama Circle were saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Meehan last Friday. Joe was a long-standing member of Sligo Drama Circle and was active in many roles within the group over many decades. Joe’s involvement with Sligo Drama Circle probably dates back to the 1960s and from then on, Joe […]
The death has taken place of Irish actor Brendan Cauldwell at the age of 83. Mr Cauldwell had played the role of Pascal Mulvey in the RTÉ soap Fair City since 1996. Born in Fairview in Dublin and educated in O’Connell’s CBS, he worked in the insurance industry in Sligo before becoming a full time […]
The recent death of Fair City actor, Brendan Cauldwell, evoked many memories of the halcyon days of amateur drama in Sligo, where, as a young man, the famous actor first took to the stage. Working in the insurance business in Sligo, Brendan became a popular member of the Sligo Unkown Players, appearing in many of […]
The death occurred at the weekend in the United States of well-known Sligo-born actress Pauline Flanagan, a star of both stage and screen. Seventy eight years old Mrs. Flanagan, who came from High Street where her parents, P.J. and Elizabeth, ran a thriving wholesale and retail business. The following is an extract from an interview […]
In May 1967, I was back at the Opera House, on stage this time in Synge’s “The Playboy of the Western World”, at the Ulster Drama Final. The Drama Circle travelled to Belfast on Friday afternoon, unloading our stage set that night, which had been designed by Br. Columban for the stage in the Town […]
Siobhán Dooney will be remembering her dear father Paddy as she takes part in the Sligo Drama Circle’s 50th anniversary celebrations, which begin in the Hawk’s Well today, Tuesday. Paddy Dooney was a founder member of the Circle, and acted in its first production, Thy Dear Father, which ran at Sligo Town Hall from November […]
As the Sligo Drama Circle celebrates its 50th anniversary next week, all talk will once again revert back to the group’s first performance in 1956. Directed by Walter McDonagh, the cast of “Thy Dear Father” tread the boards half a century ago in the Town Hall and according to Walter was the talk of the […]
Have you ever looked out the window at the rain falling and felt glad to be inside, warm and comfortable…where the boundaries are known? But then again, maybe its different and you feel slightly trapped, stuck on the inside and out there life is happening? Were the walls built to keep you safe or keep […]
Sligo Drama Circle Young People’s Theatre present their new play, YOU ARE HERE (BUT WHO ARE YOU?) at the Factory Performance Space on Thursday 14th , Friday 15th, Saturday 16th December at 8.00pm. The performance lasts about one hour and tickets can be got from the Factory (Box Office: 071 917 0431) at €8.00 each […]
Have you ever looked out the window at the rain falling and felt glad to be inside, warm and comfortable …….. where the boundaries are known? But then again, maybe it’s different and you feel slightly trapped, stuck on the inside and out there life is happening? Were the walls built to keep you safe […]
Sligo Drama Circle will mark its 70th Anniversary with “Stage Memories”, an exhibition of posters, programmes, photographs, costumes, props and memorabilia for Culture Night 2026. Join us in our Market Yard premises (beside Montmartre restaurant F91 EVK4) on Culture Night, Friday September 18th any time between 7-9pm and take a nostalgic look through our archives charting our dramatic journey […]
November 18th marks the 70th anniversary of the very first Sligo Drama Circle production, when we appeared on the stage of the Town Hall for our very first performance, “Thy Dear Father” by Gerard Healy. Now, Sligo Drama Circle is marking the occasion of our 70th Anniversary with the launch of a new book detailing […]
We are delighted to announce that our 70th Anniversary celebrations will continue this November in the Hawk’s Well Theatre with a production of the comedy-drama, “Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling. Directed by Ann Marie Byrne, the play, first staged in 1987, went on to be made into a successful 1989 movie of the same name […]
This summer, we have introduced a series of Table Reads to give people a chance to see if they would really like to take on a role in a play. The informal evenings allow participants to participate in a read-through of a complete play, taking turns to read different roles or to sit back and […]
Now that the final curtain has dropped on our 2026 production of Roddy Doyle’s “The Snapper”, we’d just like to say a huge “Thank You” to the Sligo audiences who came out to support us this week in such huge numbers in the Hawk’s Well Theatre for the production. Five Sold Out shows in advance […]
We continue our seasonal offerings marking the start of our 70th anniversary celebrations with a revival of our recordings of 12 different poems all with a Christmas theme. Following on from successful recordings of “A Christmas Carol” and “The Age Old Message”, we have decided to re-release our series of seasonal poems over the Christmas […]
As part of our continuing 70th Anniversary celebrations, we are delighted to present a revival of last year’s recording of a seasonal tale by Pat Ingoldsby, entitled “The Age Old Message”. Recited by a chorus of voices, the story is a salutary tale of the real meaning of Christmas and how different people experience the […]
Sligo Drama Circle is delighted to present a revival of an audio recording of “A Christmas Carol” by Paul Thain, adapted from the book by Charles Dickens. First produced in 2023, it was a new departure for us, embracing the wonders of modern technology to create our first audio recording of a play. Involving 21 […]
Over the years Sligo Drama Circle has used many places for the rehearsal of plays and making of sets and costumes. Sligo Columban Club, Sligo Social Services, Scoil Ursula. For
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Treading the Boards – Book Launch
November 18th marks the 70th anniversary of the very first Sligo Drama Circle production, when we appeared on the stage of the Town Hall for our very first performance, “Thy Dear Father” by Gerard Healy. Now, Sligo Drama Circle is marking the occasion of our 70th Anniversary with the launch of a new book detailing […]
As part of the Launch Day event for Vintage Glamour Day, a fund-raising collaboration between North-West Hospice and Sligo Races, our resident costumier, Máire Hynes, was challenged to create a vintage costume from old curtains! Máire selected a pair of curtains donated to the North-West Hospice shop and reimagined, recycled and reused them to create […]
We were delighted to support North-West Hospice in their fund-raising venture, Vintage Glamour Day, in association with Sligo Races. We attended a Launch Day in vintage costume at Sligo Racecourse to promote the special fund-raising day. A promo video and some photographs were taken on the day to raise awareness of the upcoming race meet. […]
Sligo Drama Circle is an amateur drama group formed in 1956 to provide live theatre to the Sligo public. With the disappearance of the professional theatre companies from the Irish scene at the time, and the reluctance of the National Theatre to undertake provincial tours, the amateur movement across the
... Read More
Sligo Drama Circle will mark its 70th Anniversary with “Stage Memories”, an exhibition of posters, programmes, photographs, costumes, props and memorabilia for Culture Night 2026. Join us in our Market Yard premises (beside Montmartre restaurant F91 EVK4) on Culture Night, Friday September 18th any time between 7-9pm and take a nostalgic look through our archives charting our dramatic journey […]
Treading the Boards – Book Launch
November 18th marks the 70th anniversary of the very first Sligo Drama Circle production, when we appeared on the stage of the Town Hall for our very first performance, “Thy Dear Father” by Gerard Healy. Now, Sligo Drama Circle is marking the occasion of our 70th Anniversary with the launch of a new book detailing […]
This summer, we have introduced a series of Table Reads to give people a chance to see if they would really like to take on a role in a play. The informal evenings allow participants to participate in a read-through of a complete play, taking turns to read different roles or to sit back and […]