A Go Fund Me page has been launched to help develop the next stage of a centre which will celebrate the life and honour the memory of one of Ireland’s greatest writers, Brian Friel.
Plans for the Brian Friel Centre in Glenties have been gathering pace and it is hoped the latest fundraiser will progress the project.
The Go Fund Me page is now live and it is hoped it will raise €50,000 to complete phase one of this unique and exciting project.
Brian Friel was one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights with his works performed all over the world from Broadway to the West End from the Abbey Theatre to the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Minneapolis.
But it is Glenties and the surrounding Donegal landscape, that has become immortalised in several of his plays as the fictional village ‘Ballybeg’.
It is therefore fitting that to mark his significant literary and dramatic legacy that a Centre be established in Glenties to honour the life and work of Brian Friel.
Speaking about the new Centre, Brian’s widow Anne Friel, said “The Friel family are absolutely delighted that the Court House in Glenties will be home to the Brian Friel Centre. Glenties was a very special place to him”.
The late Brian Friel with wife Anne
The Brian Friel Trust was established in 2017 to found a ‘Brian Friel Centre’, honouring his rich cultural legacy.
The vision and plan of the Trust is to establish a centre incorporating ‘The Laurels’ and ‘The Court house’ in Glenties.
The Laurels was home to Brian Friel’s mother and is the setting of his play ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’.
The Trust’s ongoing vision is to completely restore and renovate The Laurels as the Dancing at Lughnasa House and to establish the main centre in the nearby Court House.
Since 2017, the Trust has sourced the funds to buy The Laurels and has secured the integrity of the building, which had fallen into disrepair, including the roof, windows and outer walls which have now been weatherproofed.
Just down the road from The Laurels is The Court House, which the Trust secured from Donegal County Council earlier this year.
Plans for The Court House which were developed earlier this year by CHL Consulting and John McLaughlin Architects include a vibrant, dynamic and creative interpretative visitor attraction, containing elements of the Friel archive – displays of photographs, letters, theatrical memorabilia, as well as Brian’s reading library and a performance space.
Friel said
Phase One is now complete at the cost of €110,000 with the projected cost of the entire project will be in the region of €5million.
Phase two has now been launched and with the support of a gofundme campaign will provide the vital next step for the completion of the entire project.
If you would like to donate to the Go Fund Me page please see https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-brian-friel-centre-glenties-donegal
Brian Friel
Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He is considered one of the greatest dramatists of the twentieth century. He has been likened to an “Irish Chekhov” and described as “the universally accented voice of Ireland”. His plays have been compared favourably to those of contemporaries such as Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter and Tennessee Williams.
Recognised for early works such as Philadelphia, Here I Come! and Faith Healer, Friel had 24 plays published in a career of more than a half-century. He was elected to the honorary position of Saoi of Aosdána. His plays were commonly produced on Broadway in New York City throughout this time, as well as in Ireland and the UK. In 1980 Friel co- founded Field Day Theatre Company with Stephen Rea and his play Translations was the company’s first production. With Field Day, Friel collaborated with Seamus Heaney, 1995 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Heaney and Friel first became friends after Friel sent the young poet a letter following publication of his book Death of a Naturalist.
Friel was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the British Royal Society of Literature and the Irish Academy of Letters. He was appointed to Seanad Éireann in 1987 and served until 1989. In later years, Dancing at Lughnasa brought him Tony Awards (including Best Play), the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. It was
also adapted into a film, starring Meryl Streep, directed by Pat O’Connor, screen play by Frank McGuinness.
Brian Friel Trust
The Brian Friel Trust was established in 2017. Trust members: Dr. Joe Mulholland
Mary Friel Bateman
Orlaith McBride
Adrian Dunbar
Seamus Neely
Denis Conway
Bradas O’Donnell
The Trust would like to thank Adrian Dunbar for his contribution.
