"A huge success..." Geraldine O'Neill says top quality drama returned to Holycross

There’s a wonderful vibe around the county Tipperary drama festival. The colour and depth of the shows make for a tremendous spectacle. Held annually in the picturesque village of Holycross in mid Tipperary, the event brings many people into the area and is a mainstay in the calendar for many people across the island.

This year groups from places as diverse as Kilmeen, Lifford, Prosperous, Rearcross and Thurles amongst other places, took to the stage. County Tipperary drama festival PRO Geraldine O' Neill, who is central to the festival’s continued success, said it was wonderful to see the numbers attending back up again this year:

“It was a huge success this year, we are delighted to see so many people here. It started on Friday the 17th and the audience was fantastic that night, as it was throughout the festival. Last year we were just coming out of Covid-19 so there were people that were very worried and they were nervous about coming but this year they came back en masse and it was fantastic to see it,” she said.

The festival is held in high esteem nationally and internationally. The logistics of putting on a festival are daunting as are the efforts groups make to perform on stage but the buzz of the show makes it all worthwhile. Geraldine says that the effort involved must be acknowledged: “People work so hard on these plays. For example the group here tonight from Lifford (Saturday night) drove from Donegal at half six this morning and when they got here they put up their set, then they had a little break for sandwiches, checked the light and sound, then they had their dinner and then prepared for the show. Now that it is finished they will take it all down and head back home.” she said.

Groups across Ireland took part this year in the festival as well as the local group Holycross who put on ‘A skull in Connemara’ which is a Martin MacDonagh play. Geraldine says the effort that goes into each play that makes it to the stage is phenomenal:

“It is always hard to pick a winner because the standard is so high. For ourselves here in Holycross drama group it was our first year in the open so this was the premiere. Holycross did extremely well and got nominations and awards across the country. As with all groups, it takes a huge effort on and off stage. Most groups start when the director chooses their play, maybe in the summer after thinking about what they will do. The casting and readings will start in September for maybe two nights a week and then it goes on until about four or five nights a week until opening night"

The festival director in Holycross is Donal Duggan, and the community element to this festival makes it particularly special according to Geraldine: “The two biggest times of the year in Holycross are the novena and the drama festival! It's great to see so many people involved from the community. We have an amazing committee involved in the drama festival and we have three restaurants that feed the cast in the evening. The Wytchway Inn, O' Gormans and Parkers all play their part.

“The community spirit is wonderful and this year is special as people are back after Covid-19 as people are coming from all over and some people book their holidays around the festival to be there every night. We are working up to our 40th year next year so hopefully we will have some nice surprises but that is for then and tonight we will reflect on how well this year went overall.”