Tuam songwriters Leo Moran and Padraig Stevens went searching for the story behind an old song. They met arts practitioners in their 70's 80's and 90's, all inspirational and young at heart.
Additional material and the archive of Tuam Theatre Guild can be accessed on Facebook
For Helena Curley from Gort, Co Galway. Helena suffered a TBI as a result of a fall a number of years ago and now lives in Clarinbridge care home, where she continues to make an incredible recovery.
Created by Sarah-Jane Scott. Sound by Anthony Hanley.
Mr Richard Kelly was born in Lavally, Tuam, worked in England for a number of years, and is fond of a good game of twenty five.
Created by Órla Mc Govern / Performed by Midie Corcoran, Órla Mc Govern and Niceol Blue
Born on Inis Oirr, Mrs Maura Howard moved to Chicago aged nineteen, returning in the 70s with her family to Renmore in Galway.
Dedicated to Mrs. Maura Howard, Bushfield, Oranmore
Órla Mc Govern/ Maura Howard - Guitar and guest vocals - Niceol Blue, Chicago Images - Jonathon Pitts
Having left the village of Moylough for New York in her teens, Bridie Higgins spent time as a nun, became a teacher who specialised in the schooling of teenage cancer patients and was awarded New York's ‘Irish Person Of The Year’.
Leo Moran/ Bridie Higgins - The Screaming Orphans (music) and Evan Kelly (music and video)
Maisie Gallagher is a formidable woman of sharp wit and intelligence who navigates the seas of life with her courage and strong spirit.
Maria Tivnan/ Maisie Gallagher – Musician Jarlath Tivnan
Sr. Madeleine Houlihan (89) is a Presentation Sister and lives in St Mary's in Shantalla. She is a teacher and an artist.
Emma O’Grady/ Sister Madeleine - Music by Paul Houlihan. Ag Criost an Siol sung by Bríd Treasa Ní Ghaoithín
Eva's Echo were delighted to tell the story of Steven Simmons, an infectiously positive and strong minded young lad who has remained resilient in his positivity through hardship and adversity.
Rena Bryson and Hazel Doolan
A mosaic of memories from former Ardrahan club and Galway hurler Miko McInerney. With stories, memories and verse, names and dates, big wins and adventures, and life lessons learned.
Created by Ruth Smith / Videographer / editor - Fergal Scahill / Vocals & Harmomium - Ruth Smith / Fiddle - Fergal Scahill / Piano - Ryan Molloy
The Bringing It All Back Home initiative is being run in association with Through The Window, the parallel initiative by Backstage Theatre Longford (who were the original architects of the overall project) and the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire.
Born and reared in Ballyboy, Abbeylara, Co Longford, Jimmy Caffrey's passion is GAA. He played for Granard, the winning side in the 1941 County Championship Final and went on to volunteer as a steward in Croke Park for years and for which he received a service award in 2008. Created by Seamus O Rourke, Filmed and edited by Padraig Conaty, Original Music by John Devine
The story of Maureen Beirne and her life at the heart of an Irish community in London, her great love of music and all things Irish and, above all, her great love for her husband and her family, all told through the eyes of her daughter. Created by Fionnual Gygax and Tom Lane
Inspired by his beautiful films and their conversations about them, Zoe Ní Riordáin went to Cape Clear and made a video essay for Irish director George Morrison, as part of Pavilion Theatre’s Through the Window initiative.
Shot and edited by Eavan Aiken. With special thanks to Ashford House Nursing Home, Dún Laoghaire.
Liam Rogers was born by the side of the Royal Canal at Lock 42, Ards Kenagh Co Longford. The son of a lock keeper, Liam was one of nine children who grew up in a house of music, every one of them playing the fiddle. He went on to work for Bord na Mona and reared his own family in the Bord na Mona houses at Derahaun, Kenagh, playing his reels jigs and hornpipes for all and passing on his love of music to his family.
Ruth Smith - Video Editing by Fergal Scahill
‘Bringing It All Back Home -Through the Window’ is a series of short-form digital pieces created by a panel of theatre makers, musicians and writers who engaged with residents in Nursing Homes and Care Homes across Galway and in Longford and Dún Laoghaire last summer and then researched, wrote and presented digital vignettes inspired by those engagements.
At the beginning of summer 2020, Town Hall Theatre Galway, Backstage Theatre Longford (the original architects of the initiative) and Pavilion Theatre Dún Laoghaire invited a number of Nursing Homes and Care Homes in their area to nominate a resident to interact with one of a panel of local artists. The artists then connected (via phone or Zoom or in some instances, via safe visits) with the resident and with the resident’s family, listening to their stories and created a series of short-form vignettes for broadcast on social media and digital platforms. The digital stories feature a diverse range of subjects, from recent experiences to fond if distant memories of childhood and varied lifetimes. The first seven of these digital pieces were published in October 2020, with more to follow on a rolling basis.
This unique intergenerational initiative, created to shine a light on older citizens affected by the lockdown, was designed to show collective support for older citizens and the people who care for them, especially in times of crisis. The outbreak of Covid-19 early in 2020 was a source of significant stress, worry and perhaps even fear for many older people and the restrictive measures put in place to deal with the crisis - particularly in Nursing Homes - increased the social isolation experienced by many. As the project progressed, it expanded to include people living outside of care home settings and also others deeply affected by the lockdown.
‘Bringing It All Back Home -Through the Window’ was funded by Creative Ireland, Galway City Council and Longford County Council as part of the Irish Government’s campaign, Getting Through Covid-19 Together, which aims to support people through the restrictive measures that have been put in place to deal with the Covid-19 crisis. The campaign emphasises the importance of collective support and staying connected to others, and while all of us are experiencing different concerns, it highlights: “no matter what you’re going through, let’s stay connected and make it through, together”.
Artists working on the project were Rena Bryson, Fionnuala Gygax, Hazel Doolan, Tom Lane, Órla Mc Govern, Leo Moran, Una McKevitt, Seamus O’Rourke, Zoe Ní Riordáin, Emma O'Grady, Oisín Robbins, James Scales, Padraig Stevens, Ruth Smith, Maria Tivnan. Musicians and singers were Niceol Blue, Paul Houlihan, Bríd Treasa Ní Ghaoithín, Jarlath Tivnan, the Screaming Orphans. Creative Co-Coordinators were Maisie Lee and Fionnuala Gygax. Videographers and Editors were Eavan Aiken, Evan Kelly, Fergal Scahill. Videos by Sarah-Jane Scott, Diarmuid de Faoite and Feilim O'hAolain and others will follow in early 2021
Videos by Sarah-Jane Scott, Diarmuid de Faoite and Feilim O'hAolain will follow in early 2021
The Town Hall, Backstage and Pavilion Theatres are grateful to RTÈ, to the Arts Council, to the project’s funders Creative Ireland, Galway City Council and Longford County Council, to all of the participating artists and musicians, to the management and staff in each of the participating Nursing Homes and Care Homes - St Mary’s, Shantalla Rd, Galway; Teaghlach Uilinn Moycullen; Bushfield Care Centre, Oranmore; Clarinbridge Care Centre; Greenpark Nursing Home, Tuam; Ashford House Nursing Home, Dún Laoghaire and Costello’s Nursing Home and Care Centre, Lanesborough, Co Longford.
The Town Hall, Backstage and Pavilion Theatres especially wish to thank the very very special participating residents - Maisie Gallagher, James Hand, Bridie Higgins; Sr. Madeleine Houlihan, Mrs. Maura Howard, George Morrison, Liam Rogers, Steven Simmons - thank you so much for sharing your wonderful and wisdom-filled stories with us.
