Sligo Actor Lands Major Role at Dublin Festival

A Sligo man is playing a major role in the Dublin Theatre Festival which opened in the capital this week. Paddy Dooney, a founding member of the Sligo Drama Circle and a well known actor, is appearing in the Druid Company’s professional production of “The Playboy of the Western World”. Paddy, who has for many years now been closely involved with the drama scene in Sligo, will return home with the company when they take the production straight from the festival to the Hawk’s Well Theatre on Tuesday next, October 5th as part of an exciting festival of drama at the Temple Street venue.

Artistic Director of Druid, a Galway-based company, Garry Hynes, asked Paddy to take on the role in the play. “I did not hesitate to accept this role. I looked forward to it but the request from Druid cam as a great shock to me. At this stage of my career it came as a great honour to be asked”, he explained. Paddy will play the part of Michael James in the play, the sort of production which he claims, suits him. “I have always loved this sort of drama. This play is set in the west coast of Ireland and I think that will make it something special for me. But no matter what the play was, I think I would have jumped at the chance to appear in Dublin with Druid and I am also very delighted that the play will then come to Sligo for the first provincial performance”, Paddy explained.

The play began its run in the Olympia on the 24th of this month and then Sligo audiences will get the first opportunity to see it. As he contemplated his appearance in Dublin, Paddy recalled the many famous names and places with which he has been associated in his long and successful career in the theatre. It is the local people who bring back the fondest memories for Paddy. People such as Charlie and Maggie Hughes, the Fitzpatricks, Gene Molloy and Eddie Mc Dermottroe. “These people put an awful lot of hard and dedicated work into Sligo theatre. We did not then have a modern theatre such as the Hawk’s Well. Success was made out of hard work, hours of practice and I suppose good luck. Without that you can’t succeed in theatre”.

“There were times when things were disappointing for us but the good times outweigh the bad and everyone enjoyed it”, he said. Paddy played a prominent part in the forming of the Sligo Drama Circle. “We had problems in the early days but things developed and the great thing now is that we have seen the Hawk’s Well Theatre development. This should prove a great boost for the theatre in Sligo and possibly encourage more people to take it up”, he added.

From the age of twelve Paddy has been involved with drama. During his career he has played with the Utopians in England and other groups. He was associated with the Sligo Unknowns when he returned to Sligo and the seeds were then sown for the birth of the Sligo Drama Circle. “People like Walter Mc Donagh, Charlie and Maggie Hughes and others were determined to get this off the ground and that is how it all began. It’s grown from there and there remain a group of very dedicated people”, Paddy explains. Names such as Godfrey Quigley, Jim Finn and others were associated with Sligo drama in the early days. “There were some fine people involved and that tradition has been continuing since”, said Paddy.

Now, however, he is more concerned with his role in the Theatre Festival and he admits – “I never expected this but I am enjoying it although it is hard work”. Paddy has come a long way since the age of twelve when he first took the stage in “Under the Red Robe” with the late Anew Mc Master.

 from The Sligo Champion, by Michael Moran, October 1st, 1982