Completing The Circle On Walter’s Acting Career

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 town for “at least a week” afterwards. One of the original founding members of the SDC, Walter was born in Strokestown and began acting at a young age. With a group of friends he later formed the “Saint Asicus Players”, although it lasted no longer than a year. “I just loved it up on the stage and unfortunately it’s just like a disease; very hard to get rid of it,” smiled Walter. Many thought that the acting bug had been squashed when Walter swapped the stage for the kitchen, training as a chef in Dublin’s Clarence Hotel. However, in his spare time, he attended Brendan Smith Academy and following an hotel strike, he began working with CIE catering before returning to Sligo.

On arriving back in Sligo, Walter was introduced to Charlie and Maggie Hughes, the driving forces behind the Sligo Unknown Players and he took up his place within the local drama circuit. However, in 1956, a group of half a dozen members broke away and formed what has now become the Sligo Drama Circle, which led to Walter directing his first play. “And this was all discussed over a drink in the bar,” he added. There have been numerous successes since that debut performance, as Walter went on to distinguish himself as both an actor and director, his reputation enhanced by the annual production of Yeats’ plays for the Summer School students for 20 years. Other defining moments included the SDC’s trip to St Louis USA for St Patrick’s Day in 1989 with “Juno and the Paycock”, while Walter added that winning the Ulster Cup in the Belfast Opera House in 1967 with “The Playboy of the Western World” was also a defining moment. And along with his amateur dramatics, Walter took his knowledge of the stage to the schools, teaching speech and drama to budding young actors.

He was also an active member in campaigning for a theatre for Sligo and revealed how the Hawk’s Well got its name. “It comes from the Yeats’ play, “The Hawk’s Well” where an old man is waiting for the well to bubble. “The hawk comes along and distracts the man with his sexy dance and the water comes up,” said Walter. With 45 years of loyal service to the SDC, Walter reminisced about the number of of productions he had graced before grinning at the random number of 60 plus that was pulled from the air. “I’m not that old,” he laughed. And when questioned on his most memorable production after having directed or acted in at least one play a year, coupled with his annual Yeats’ plays, Walter pauses before diplomatically adding that “there were a lot of performances and I enjoyed everyone”.

By Maria Tracey, The Sligo Champion, June 14th, 2006