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HomeFarming NewsPlay based on Mayo farmer Padraig Nally
Catherina Cunnane
Catherina Cunnanehttps://www.thatsfarming.com/
Catherina Cunnane hails from a sixth-generation drystock and specialised pedigree suckler enterprise in Co. Mayo. She currently holds the positions of editor and general manager at That's Farming, having joined the firm during its start-up phase in 2015.
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Play based on Mayo farmer Padraig Nally

Mick Donnellan, a County Mayo native, will broadcast his latest play entitled Nally on Wednesday (June 9th,2021) evening.

Nally, the latest production from Truman Town Theatre, is based on the events of October 2004 when farmer, Pádraig Nally, shot and killed an Irish traveller, John ‘Frog’ Ward, who entered his property.

Acted and directed through Zoom, Donnellan has based the play on the theme of rural isolation, and it centres around the west of Ireland bachelor.

“While we are initially introduced to a quaint, idyllic life, we soon see there is a sinister cloud on the horizon,” Donnellan explained.

“Reports of crimes and intimidation in the local area pervade the general conversation, and it is only a matter of time before the new threat reaches Padraig’s door.”

“Faced with persistent visits from two unwanted guests, we witness Padraig deteriorate into a state of chronic anxiety and severe crippling fear.”

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“Forced to live in the cowshed for his own safety, and with a police force too stretched to help, he decides to defend himself in the most brutal way possible,” the playwright and novelist added.

Inspired by true events, Donnellan added, Nally is “not without signature” Truman Town elements such as dark humour, poetic dialect and controversy.

At times a touching, poignant story, it drags the “harsher side of humanity to the surface and highlights the dangers of living alone in modern rural Ireland”.

Supported by Westmeath County Council Arts Office, Truman Town Threatre will present Nally on Wednesday, June 9th at 9:30 pm via YouTube here.

About Donnellan

Mick Donnellan completed the MA in Writing at NUIG in 2004. Since then, he has worked as a novelist and [laywright with Druid (2009) and RTÉ (2010).

Later, he established his own theatre company, Truman Town Theatre.

The company exploded onto the theatrical circuit in 2011 with their hit Play – Sunday Morning Coming Down. Following a national tour, they produced (and tour) two more successful plays, Shortcut to Hallelujah and Gun Metal Grey. These dramas eventually became known as the ‘Ballinrobe Trilogy’.

The company toured a fourth Play, Velvet Revolution and a fifth Play – Radio Luxembourg, which was immediately optioned by London Film Company Dixon/Baxi/Evans and adapted for the screen. Mick was taken on board as a screenwriter on the Radio Luxembourg project.

After some months commuting to and from London, the script was finalised and a shoot organised in the Jordanian desert.

Titled Tiger Raid and starring Brian Gleeson, Damian Molony and Sofia Boutella, it was accepted into the Tribeca film festival. It was also seen at Cannes and Edinburgh. The Irish premiere was screened at the Galway Film Fleadh.

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