Sive in Athlone 1959, Lou Reed and Dublin City Marathon

Big Day for Drama in Listowel

The pinnacle of achievement in amateur drama is a win at The All Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone. Listowel Players did it in style in 1959 with a brand new play.  Sive, with its hard hitting gritty realism broke the mould in Irish drama and held a mirror up to rural Irish society.  The play is an Irish Romeo and Juliet. It has become a classic and is as gripping today as it was in 1959.

I am indebted to Margaret Dillon and Kay Caball for photos and memories of Listowel Drama group's great win at The All Ireland Drama Festival in Athone with their production of John B. Keane's Sive.

Bryan McMahon, on behalf of The Listowel Players accepting the Esso Trophy for Best Play at The All Ireland Drama festival.

Left to Right; Brian Brennan, Siobhan Cahill, Brendan Carroll, Bryan McMahon, President Listowel Drama Group,  Representative of Esso (the sponsors of the trophies) , Margaret Moloney, Chairman Listowel Drama Group, Margaret Dillon, Nora Relihan.

Front Row From Left:

Jeffrey O’Connnor (Cahirciveen,  Sheila Keane’s Husband)

Brendan Carroll   (Carroll Henigan, William St)

Margaret Dillon     (She played Sive)

John B. Keane        

Cecile Cotter  (‘Tasty Cotter’s’ sister – Scully’s Corner used to be called Cotter’s Corner)

Nora Relihan

Dan Moloney T.D., (grandfather of our mayor, Jimmy Moloney)

Second Row Left to Right

John Cahill,  (Main St.,)

Hilary Neilsen, (Bridge Road)

Siobhan Cahill (Main St.)

Bill Kearney  (Lr. William St. – where Nora Canty’s is now)

Harry Geraghty  (Bank of Ireland or maybe National Bank?)

Eamon Keane 

Mrs. Peggie Walsh  ( The Square)

Back Row, Left to Right

John Flaherty  (Charles St)

Margaret Moloney (Gurtinard, grandmother of the current mayor of Listowel, Jimmy Moloney)

Kevin Donovan (Upper William St)

Seamus Ryle  (Nora Relihan’s brother)

Ina Leahy  (Leahys, Market St)

Dr. Johnny Walsh

Peg Schuster  (John B’s sister)

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My tribute to the late Lou Reed.... his lovely 9/11 poem

Laurie if you're sadly listening

The birds are on fire

The sky glistening

While I atop my roof stand watching

Staring into the spider's clypeus

Incinerated flesh repelling

While I am on the rooftop yearning

Thinking of you

Laurie if you're sadly listening

Selfishly I miss your missing

The boundaries of our world now

changing

The air is filled with someone's

sick reasons

And I had thought a beautiful

season was

Upon us

Laurie if you're sadly listening

The phones don't work

The bird's afire

The smoke curls black

I'm on the rooftop

Liberty to my right still standing

Laurie, Evil's gaunt desire is

Upon me

Laurie if you're sadly listening

Know one thing above all others

You were all I really thought of

As the TV blared the screaming

The deathlike snowflakes

Sirens screaming

All I wished was you to be holding

Bodies frozen in time jumping

Bird's afire

One thing me thinking

Laurie if you're sadly listening

Love you

Laurie if you're sadly listening

Love you.

(Written for The New York Times Magazine on Oct. 6, 2001)

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Yesterday's Dublin City Marathon

Interestingly the race was won by a man called Hehir, (pronounced hare).