“The Colleen Bawn” Was Unqualified Success

Mrs. Eileen Lambert, Hon. Secretary, reporting to the final meeting of the committee which was established in Sligo to aid the Sligo United Players in staging “The Colleen Bawn” to mark the retirement from the amateur stage of Charlie and Margaret Hughes, founder members of the Sligo Unknown Players, had this to say:

“it gives me great pleasure to report to this committee that the production of “The Colleen Bawn” was an unqualified success, both from the entertainment and the financial aspect. As you know, this production was organised to mark the occasion of the retirement of Charlie and Margaret Hughes from dramatic activities in Sligo and I think you will all agree it was a fitting tribute and that Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are deeply appreciative of the efforts of this committee.

Personally, I am very proud to be associated with people who showed such whole-hearted enthusiasm and who worked so hard to make a success of the project and it is gratifying to proclaim the tribute came up to our expectations. When it was mooted as far back as July of last year I never visualised such wonderful co-operation and help. At that first meeting Mr. Walter Mc Donagh stated that only a first class production would be a worthy tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Hughes and he certainly spared no effort towards the attainment of this.

We owe a debt of gratitude, too, to the cast who gave of their best in all five performances, to Miss Breedge Butler, Mr. Patrick Thornton and Mr. George Allsop; to Mrs. Toher, Miss Mulvihill and Mr. Joe Burns who were responsible for the make-up of the cast; to the Costume Committee, particularly Mrs. Friel and Miss Doreen Treacy and to Miss Gabriel Gore-Booth; to our Rev. Chairman, Rev K. Mc Dermott, who not only acted as Chairman at our meetings but gave tangible help in the distribution of tickets and posters’ to Rev Bro. Columban and Miss Kitty Hennessy for the artistic posters; to all the ticket and raffle sellers; to all those who provided transport, in particular Mr. E. Mc Dermottroe and to those who provided transport to Ballymote; to Miss Moohan of Messrs. Brodericks, who was responsible for the Gillooly Hall bookings and the sale of tickets to the value of £103; to the members of the Gillooly Hall Committee who acted as ushers; to Mr. Seán Kilfeather and Mr. Peter Kenny who so ably dispatched the circulars; to those people behind the scenes responsible for stage management whose obscure, vital and thankless work nightly bears so much weight in every show and I would especially like to mention Mr. Tom Palmer, Mr. Joe Burns and Mrs. Kay Guinane.

We are also extremely grateful to all the subscribers including the committee of Feis Shligigh, to the Sligo Champion publications for publicity and coverage, also to the management of Ballymote Cinema and to Mr. Jim Mc Garry for his work in negotiating arrangements for a performance there. Last but not least thanks go to the Gillooly Hall Committee for their generosity in placing the Gillooly Hall at our disposal for the rehearsals and four performances; this gesture was certainly an incentive towards the success of our efforts. I would also like to thank our very able Hon. Treasurer whom you will see from his report worked very hard.

I should like to quote from “A Historical Survey of British Drama” regarding the author of “The Colleen Bawn” – “He was a sentimentalist, his dialogue often sounds stilted and artificial, but he had a true sense of the theatre. His early works are by no means to be despised, and his later efforts (which include “The Colleen Bawn”) in which his genuine sense of humour is ably allied to his appreciation of the theatric thrill were quite justifiably esteemed in his own time”.

I think Sligo audiences were fortunate to have an opportunity of seeing this 19th century play, it was an interesting study in the evolution of the drama and I think you will agree that the producer and the cast of the 1961 production deserve more than the ordinary appreciation for their dramatic technique in giving us such an entertaining interpretation of a play published in 1859.”

from The Sligo Champion, February 17th, 1962