Ralahine commune story remembered at Gort festival

national | arts and media | news report Tuesday April 01, 2008 14:44 by Fred Johnston - Western Writers' Centre, Galway westernwriters at eircom dot net 34 Nuns Island Galway 091.533594

'The Forge' festival in Gort recalled 1831 events

Written by playwrights Margaretta D'Arcy and John Arden, 'Re-telling Ralahine - 1831 A Co-op Dream in Words and Music' was performed at The Lady Gregory Hotel, Gort, Co. Galway, as part of the 'The Forge' litfest in Gort last Saturday, March 29th.

John Arden (left) Margaretta D'Arcy, cast members and musician Sylvia Crawford rehearse in Gort

A packed house was treated to a scripted remembering of the events surrounding one of the first agricultural co-operatives in Ireland, a venture which also saw the introduction of the very first thresher in the country. The event was recorded by Shay Leon of Shay Studios, Loughrea, Co. Galway.
"The enormous turn-out shows that there is still considerable interest in this before-its-time experiment in agricultural socialism," says the Western Writers' Centre's Director, Fred Johnston. The festival was organised by the Galway-based centre. "It was very important to do this show."
It was standing ovations for the authors as the show concluded.