ALT to perform at National Famine Museum
Athlone Little Theatre will perform their staged reading of Tom Milan’s epic poem 'An Gorta Mór Bis' at the National Famine Museum in Strokestown on Saturday, June 24.
The company were invited by the museum authorities to present the work as part of their annual Summer School which will run from June 22 to 25.
The presentation is a rehearsed reading of the poem which was premiered at Athlone Little Theatre a year ago. The group subsequently presented the work at the theatre for Culture Night last September and an audio version of the reading was broadcast on Athlone Community Radio last October when listeners around the globe could tune in via the internet.
The poem is a moving and heartbreaking account of the arrival in Ireland of the potato blight in the 1840s which ravaged the main food source of the native population. Together with the laissez-faire response of the establishment, millions were left to either die of starvation or forced to emigrate. 175 years on, the poem has resonance today with many in the world who suffer in similar circumstances.
Author Tom Milan, whose forebears emigrated to the United States around the time of the famine, will be in attendance. “I feel very privileged that the organisers in Strokestown have selected my poem to be presented at the Summer School.
"Having the work performed at the National Famine Museum by Athlone Little Theatre is a huge honour and a personal highlight in my journey exploring the experience of those who lived and died during those tragic times," Tom said.
The performing cast includes Billy Nott, Olive Martin, Pat Canty, Michael McGlone, Aideen Diffley and producer, Joe MacCarrick. Tom O'Neill will be providing technical support and music accompaniment is by uilleann piper Liam Winnett.
"This is a first for Athlone Little Theatre", said Joe MacCarrick. "We are delighted to have been asked to perform the piece in the National Famine Museum which is a fitting venue for Tom's work. It will be an event for us all to savour for years to come".