AND now for a different kind of story from Tallaght. Mark O'Rowe, the young playwright from Springfield mentioned above, is one name to conjure with, but in terms of productivity, he has a rival in Michael Lynchehaun, the lynchpin of the Tallaght Theatre Group, which plans to open its own theatre at the end of May.
The group has about 60 members and has been going for the past 22 years, sometimes putting on up to four plays a year "for a guaranteed audience of 1,000 to 1,500 people" in a prefab beside St Mary's School. Now they've built their own premises. ("Well, actually, from the outside when you look at it, a theatre doesn't come to mind," says Michael, undaunted.)
Originally costed at about £280,000, the group has managed to construct a building big enough for a two storey set, complete with, a 45 ft wide stage, for about £100,000. How did they do it?
Michael, a garda by day, answers with infectious glee. "We got 140 seats from the Adelphi when it closed dimming equipment from the Riverbank only last week scaffolding at half price. The Gaiety sold us some lights. We got the site for £10 a year for 99 years. Roadstone and Buckleys gave us the blocks and materials at cost. When Bord Gais put in the pipes, we got the rest of the plumbing and underground work done at the same time. Almost all she work has been voluntary. We even hooked in a local solicitor and architect. The Ireland Fund gave us some money. You just have to look for it. That's how it's done."