"THE saying `That beats Banagher' is better known than Banagher itself".

So says one of the performers in A Song At Twilight, a recent addition to Banagher's social calendar. Even those who have never heard the saying would probably agree with the sentiment: a smallish, remotish, midlands town, Banagher is hardly Ireland's most happening place.

But Banagher is proud of its long recorded history - Clonmacnoise is nearby and its many literary associations. Charlotte Bronte pronounced it "remote but by no means dull" and George V, while he was still Duke of York, was so impressed by the town (and the enthusiasm of some of Banagher's royalist citizens) that he dubbed a nearby stretch of the Shannon "The Duke of York route". A Song At Twilight celebrates these associations through a novel and original themed show.

Most foreign visitors alighting from a Shannon pleasure cruiser in search of Banagher nightlife are drawn to the traditional music and crack in Haugh's pub. A Song At Twilight provides a very different sort of entertainment: it emulates a social evening in a genteel Irish country house at the turn of the century.

The setting for the show is the drawing room of Crank House, a typical Georgian country house, built in 1760. Crank House has had a chequered history and now, houses a multitude of projects, from the art gallery on the ground floor to the budget tourist accommodation upstairs. The drawing room, where the show takes place, has been revamped in turn of the century style, with a heavy, William Morris style print on the walls and drapes.

On arrival, the visitor is welcomed to this room with a glass, of sherry, while the performers mingle, chatting about the show and the local attractions. A short introduction by the ebullient Charlie Whittaker and his two "lady" companions, Bernice Kirwan and Martina. English, welcomes the audience as guests to their "prosperous and hospitable" home. Then curtains are drawn, seats are taken, pianist John Rowe strikes the keys and the evening begins.

The programme was devised and scripted by Clem O'Sullivan, in old fashioned, music hall style - a mixture of music, recitation, story and song. Subjects covered include Banagher's four day fair, monastic life at Clonmacnoise, the Famine, faction fights, and the town's literary associations.

Wine is served at the beginning of the entertainment and is a break for a robust: supper - a hot chicken dish, salad and bread, followed by apple pie and tea or coffee.

However, the emphasis of A Song At Twilight is not on food but on entertainment, and as, entertainment of its genre, it would be hard to fault it. The script cleverly ties together the disparate strands of history, song, story, myth and music into a satisfying whole. Most of the show goes with a rumbustious swing, aided by the antics and attitude of our hearty "host".

THE loose theme allows tunes which might have been heard in any late 19th century country house to be included - songs by Percy French and Gilbert and Sullivan, emigration ballads and drinking ditties - as well as local compositions, like the eponymous A Song At Twilight, penned by J.L. Molloy known as the Bard of Ely O'Carroll country, close by Banagher.

Brochures for A Song At Twilight invite the visitor to experience "the twilight of an old culture and the dawning of a new". Whether it lives up to such lofty claims is debatable. What it does offer, however, is an enjoyable night's entertainment served up in an original, and value for money, package. As tourist attractions go, it would be hard to beat Banagher on this one.