News from Sean...

This evening, unfortunately, we have to share the most disappointing news for the happiest of reasons.

We have all been looking forward to the prospect of Sean McGinley’s return to Ballyshannon for the Allingham festival, no one more so than Sean himself. However, we all knew that, given the unavoidable unpredictability of an actor’s life, something might come up to spoil the plan and so it has come to pass.

New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre have just announced their plans to stage The Friel Project, a major retrospective on the work of Brian Friel beginning with his classic Translations. Remember you read it here first that director Doug Hughes has chosen Sean to play Hugh, the old schoolmaster. This is a part created by another Donegal man with a notable body of work on stage and screen, the late Ray McAnally. (Indeed, he played the part right here in Ballyshannon, alongside our mutual friend, Stephen Rea) The production is slated to run off-Broadway from mid-October to December which, unfortunately, runs right across our dates. While disappointed, of course, we are comforted by our pride and delight in seeing yet another highlight in Sean’s illustrious career. As for the Allingham festival, we hope and confidently expect that “there will be another day”.

Ancient Drumhome

One of the many events we are looking forward to in the afternoon of Saturday, November 11th, is this short documentary from the Drumhome Heritage Society.

It explores the rich History and Heritage of the ancient parish of Drumhome, Ballintra through a script written by storyteller Keith Corcoran with a cast of local actors. It was filmed and directed in 2020 by Peter Mullaney of Mullaney Media and should be of great interest to film buffs and local historians alike.

Following the 20 minute showing in the Abbey Arts Centre, there will be a Question and Answer session led by Peter Mullaney and Keith Corcoran.

The final programme for the festival is now nearing completion so do watch out for further details.

Reel Borders

What does a border mean to the people who live there?

• … A checkpoint?
• … A chance to care for neighbours regardless of their beliefs?
• … A way of controlling and watching over people, like in colonial times?
• … A matter of identity?

The Reel Borders shorts is a collection of four amateur short documentary films exploring the meaning of borders to people who lived during the Troubles, those who grew up post-Good Friday Agreement, and those from other countries with their own views on what borders represent. Allingham audiences enjoyed a taster of this fascinating project last year. This year they will get to see all four films in the Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon. In this border town they are sure to spark many further questions and, if not answers, reflections of local experience.

The Reel Borders Project is funded by the European Research Council (Starting Grant #948278), hosted at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and in partnership with the Nerve Centre, the Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive, and the Irish Film Institute Archive

Allingham and Emerson Lectures

This year’s Allingham Festival will kick off on Wednesday, November 8th with not one, but two fascinating lectures which this year share a related theme.

The Emerson Lecture (commemorating Lucius and Kathleen Emerson) will once again be delivered by Anthony Begley, Ballyshannon’s leading local historian. Anthony returns to a historical subject close to his heart on which he has written at some length in the past.
It is 175 years since a group of 19 orphan girls left the workhouse in Ballyshannon on the long journey to Sydney, Australia under the Earl Grey scheme. Who were they? Why were they chosen? How did they get there and what happened afterwards? Full answers to these questions may not be possible at this remove but Anthony will provide us with many interesting perspectives.
For those who can’t wait, we recommend Anthony’s “Ballyshannon Musings” blog and his short book “From Ballyshannon to Australia”

Later that evening, the Allingham lecture will be delivered by Dr Niall Muldoon, Ireland's Ombudsman for Children on the related theme, “Children’s Rights in Ireland – From the Workhouse to the Family Hub”.
Niall will offer a history of children’s rights in Ireland. He will outline the negative ways we have treated children since the time of the workhouses and the progress we have made since we, as a State, ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992.
Niall’s background is as a clinical psychologist and he has worked in the area of child protection in a variety of roles for almost 20 years.
He lives in Dublin with his wife and two daughters, but says that “… although as a passionate GAA supporter, I can appreciate the positives of being a Dub, I am a Donegal man through and through.” We look forward to his bringing that unique Donegal perspective to one of the most urgent issues in Ireland today.

Alan McMonagle to judge the 2023 Allingham Flash Fiction Competition

Alan McMonagle has published two collections of short stories, Psychotic Episodes and Liar Liar, both nominated for the Frank O'Connor Award. Ithaca, his first novel, was published by Picador in 2017, and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Award for first novels, the Dublin Literary Award, and shortlisted for an Irish Book Award. His second novel, Laura Cassidy’s Walk Of Fame, was published in 2020. He also writes for radio and his plays, Oscar Night, People Walking On Water, Shirley Temple Killer Queen and Pink Moon have been produced and broadcast as part of RTE's Drama on One season. He lives in Galway.

The 2023 Allingham Flash Fiction Competition is currently open for entries, with a deadline of 22 September. The winning entry will win a €300 prize, and the First-, Second- and Third-Place winners will read their work in an on-line Awards Ceremony on Friday, 11 November.