Over 800 tickets have been snapped up for a new drama, telling the story of an ambush in 1921, which opens at the Muintir na Tíre Hall in Milltown this Thursday night.
Ballymacandy is a play based on the bestselling book by local historian and author Owen O’Shea and involves a cast of 25 locals, all of whom live near the location where five RIC and Black and Tans were killed on 1 June 1921, just six weeks before the end of Independence.
Tickets for the highly anticipated play, which is written by Owen O’Shea and directed by Mike O’Halloran, have sold out.
“The demand has been absolutely phenomenal. We had to add a sixth performance to the five which were scheduled and that show has been filled by those who were already on the waiting list for cancellations,” said Owen.
“Rehearsals have been going now for months and the cast, most of whom have never been on stage before, have put an enormous amount of work into the preparations.
“They have really embraced the story and have been moved to portray events based on the evidence we have about what actually happened,” he said.
The demand for tickets shows the appetite for local history but also show how vibrant and strong the local community is in Milltown.
Among those killed in the ambush was RIC sergeant, James Collery, who lived in Milltown and left a wife and eight young children, and whose story is portrayed in the play. Also told is the story of the local IRA members like Jack Flynn and Dan Mulvihill and the members of Cumann na mBan, many of whom were on the receiving end of the violence of the rampaging Black and Tans.
“Writing the play was a challenge because these were real people and not fictional characters but thanks to the directing skills of Mike O’Halloran and the professionalism of such a great cast, I think we will do the story great justice,” Owen said.
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