Remembering Lionel

We in Sligo Drama Circle were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Lionel Gallagher this week. Lionel was a long-standing member of Sligo Drama Circle and was active in many roles within the group for more than 50 years. But it was on the stage where he belonged and where he excelled.

Lionel first joined Sligo Drama Circle in 1959 for a production of “Montserrat”. He played the minor role of Ricardo in this production, but famed actor and adjudicator Micheál Mac Liammóir reminded the audience at the Ballyshannon Drama Festival of the importance of every role in a play:

“Note the grand performance of Ricardo (Lionel Gallagher)”, said Mr. Mac Liammóir. “He had no foreign accent but had his Sligo one. It was not noticeable because he played from his heart and in a minor part he was admirable”.

Lionel was part of that cohort of Drama Circle members which pioneered the “Theatre For Sligo” project throughout the 1970s, culminating in the opening of the Hawk’s Well Theatre in 1982, a cherished dream for many in the Drama Circle at the time.

Lionel took an active role in the fledgling theatre and was a member of its first Board of Directors. Both he and his wife Joan were regular theatre goers, supporting both local and National productions alike.

Lionel also took part in productions for other groups including Sligo Fun Company, Everyman and Silver Apples Productions.

Lionel was a cast member of “The Playboy of the Western World” that won the Ulster Cup in the Opera House in Belfast in 1967, playing the part of one of the peasants.

He was part of the Drama Circle group that won the All-Ireland Drama Finals in 1970 in Athlone with the production of “A Streetcar Named Desire”, playing the part of the Young Man.

He was also a member of the cast of “Juno and the Paycock” that travelled to St. Louis, USA in March 1989 for two performances in the Sheldon Theatre. Indeed, he received special mention at the time from Joe Pollack, the theatre critic in the local St. Louis Post-Dispatch who said:

“He (Eddie McDermottroe) has a perfect match in Lionel Gallagher as Joxer, his neighbour and drinking companion. Joxer is the ultimate sycophant, always turning his face to the kind word, his hand to the full glass, and Gallagher is just wonderful. He is smarmy as he glides across the floor, wormy as he insinuates his great friendship for the Paycock, two-faced as he snarls invective at the Paycock behind his back, lower than low as he steals his last bottle of beer. It’s a rich and superior performance”.

On stage, Lionel took part in many Sligo Drama Circle productions over the years including: Maguire in “The Evidence I Shall Give” (1962); Michael in “Drama at Inish” (1965); the Young Man in “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1970); Charlie in “Death of a Salesman” (1971); Francis Nurse in “The Crucible” (1972); Francis in “Men Without Shadows” (1974); Rev. Tooker in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1975); Ingram in “The Loves of Cass Maguire” (1977); Seán Dóta in “Sive” (1978); Clov in “Endgame” (1980); Jerry in “Peg O’ My Heart” (1980); Peter Hurley TD in “Drama at Inish” (1984); Canon Mick O’ Byrne in “Philadelphia, Here I Come” (1987); Joxer in “Juno and the Paycock” (1988/89); Mr. Gallagher in “Shadow of a Gunman” (1991); the Old Man in “Big Maggie” (1999); Speed in “The Odd Couple” (2001); Ulick in “Moll” (2013 & 2015); and many more.

Directing credits for Sligo Drama Circle include: “Candida” (1972); “Passes in the Night” (1975); “The Freedom of the City” (1976); and “Borstal Boy” (1984).

When asked to take a minor role in John B. Keane’s classic drama “Moll” in 2013, Lionel was reticent as he felt he would not be able to learn the lines. He was reassured when told that the character of Ulick only had one line – and what a line it was!

All actors dream of a great “exit line” – they are the lines that have great impact on an audience just before the actor leaves the stage. When Moll cautions the elderly Ulick about his upcoming nuptials to his bride Bridgie, Ulick delivers his great exit line: “There’s no fear of a fall. I’d say she was often saddled before”. Lionel always received a round of applause for such a great exit from the stage!

“Moll” was revived again for a run in the Hawk’s Well Theatre in 2015 and this proved to be Lionel’s final stage performance.

Lionel also liked to write and he regularly took pen to paper to record his memories of events in the Drama Circle, contributing articles to the newsletter and to other publications. In later years, he accomplished a dream by having his children’s books published.

We fondly remember Lionel and thank him for his great contribution to our organisation’s rich dramatic and theatrical heritage. He has left us with such a great dramatic legacy. He will be sorely missed, but his memory will live on in the many memorable characters that he created on the Sligo stage over many years.

When I got the chance to visit Lionel at home during last summer, we were looking through his collection of old Sligo Drama Circle memorabilia – photographs, programmes, posters and press clippings. As we leafed though all those treasured possessions, Lionel quoted a line from the 1968 Mary Hopkin song: “Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end”.

We in the Sligo Drama Circle extend our sincere condolences to Lionel’s wife Joan, his daughters Fionnuala, Clodagh and Darina and his sons, Fergal and Conor and to his extended family and wide circle of friends.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.