Hawk’s Well Theatre – Twenty One Years

A principal player in this movement to create “A Theatre For Sligo” was the Sligo Drama Circle who worked diligently for years raising funds and support for the construction of a permanent theatre. Though faced with many setbacks the Drama Circle made a great stride forward in 1974 when it successfully lobbied the then Bishop Dr. Dominic Conway to grant them the plot of land on Temple Street where the current Hawk’s Well stands. On the strength of this the company focused on raising funds to begin construction: sourcing funding possibilities, courting Sligo’s business community for support, and seeking professional advice on possible government grant options. At the same time, the Irish government was mounting a concerted effort to de-centralise the arts in Ireland. There were already a number of strong Irish touring companies and other permanently housed companies eager to tour. The changing face and rising profile of the arts in Ireland meant that theatre companies were eager to arrange regional tours and anxious to have access to the best possible facilities. When the Sligo Drama Circle’s plan for a theatre in Sligo was presented to the Arts Council of Ireland, the Arts Council saw an opportunity and made them an offer.

The Arts Council along with North West Tourism, The Sligo County Council and Sligo Borough Council recognised this need for a designated, well-equipped cultural centre in Sligo and offered to find the funding to build and maintain a theatre on the Temple Street site. They stipulated that the theatre would be professionally run according to Arts Council standards and would have a remit broad enough to facilitate the touring professional performing artists as well as community arts groups. The Sligo Drama Circle agreed, signed over the land, and soon after construction began on the first purpose-built theatre west of the Shannon. When the Hawk’s Well opened in January 1982, many groups, both amateur and professional rushed in to fill the void.

The official opening on January 12th 1982 was presided over by then president Patrick Hillery in a gala evening that included performances by the Sligo Drama Circle, the Sligo Choral Society, Sligo Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and, in the theatre’s inaugural production, Druid Theatre Company’s production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”.

extract from “Hawk’s Well Theatre – Twenty-One Years” by Jamie Carswell, January 2003