This document provides background information on Brian Friel, the playwright of Dancing at Lughnasa. It notes that Friel was born in Northern Ireland in 1929 and initially intended to become a priest. He eventually became a teacher instead and began writing plays in his spare time. His first play was not well received. The document provides context on Friel's background and early career to help the production team understand the playwright and his work.

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Table of Contents
Introductory Statements
Dancing at Lughnasa: The Challenges……………………………………… 2
Dancing Aat Lughnasa: The Process…………………………………………5
Program Note…………………………………………………………………10
Informational Packet
About the playwright…………………………………………………………12
Glenties…………………………………………………………………….....14
Irish Mythology and Symbols………………………………………………..15
Dance…………………………………………………………………………17
Father Jack’s Journey…………………………………………………………19
Ireland in 1936………………………………………………………………..22
What is a Memory Play? ……………………………………………………..24
Character Breakdown…………………………………………………………25
Glossary of Terms…………………………………………………………….27
Additional Materials
Email Samples…………………………………………………………………34
Audience Connectivity Display………………………………………………..37

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Dancing at Lughnasa: The
Challenges
When I began work as the dramaturg for Hillsdale College’s production of Brian Friel’s Dancing
at Lughnasa, I immediately realized that this would not be a simple task. The world of Friel’s
play covers a vast expanse of Irish history and culture for the dramaturg to tackle. However, as is
to be expected of Friel’s work, the play is goes as deep as it does wide. While the incredible
playwright, director, creative team, and actors with which I would be working promised to make
my work immensely enjoyable, being an aid to their magnificent work did present its challenges.
As dramaturg for Dancing at Lughnasa, I was called on to help the actors, director, and
designers gain an understanding of life in 1930’s Ireland. Broad subjects like the rise of the
industrial revolution in Ireland, the mitten industry, the role of Catholicism in Irish politics, and
many others are concepts that I would need to master, but also condense and present to the rest
of the team in a way that would be helpful to their specific needs. I needed to research these
topics in great detail but also keep in mind what elements of my research would or wouldn’t be
useful to an actor, a costume designer, or a props master. While these concepts may at first seem
too broad for such an intimate, detailed play as Dancing at Lughnasa, Friel makes them subtle
but inextricable part of the characters’ lives. I would also would need to be able to find the ways
in which these topics connect with the play and shape the play’s world and characters. Learning
about these aspects of Irish life, finding the ways they connected to our play, and incorporating
them into our production would prove a daunting task.

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Simple facts about the world of the Mundy sisters also presented a significant challenge
to me as a dramaturg. Growing up in an Irish-Catholic household (complete with a huge family,
competitive Irish step dance, and parties that took up the entire neighborhood), I did come into
the production with some limited knowledge about Irish culture and Catholicism to share with
my team. However, ironing with a sad iron, baking soda bread, burning turf, and even smoking a
cigarette were all things I’d have to learn along with the cast. While learning the ins and outs of a
1930’s Irish-Catholic household along with the cast would, no doubt, be fun, there was a lot for
us to learn.
Another aspect of the play’s world with which I would be helping the cast was the
characters’ Irish accents. I was also assigned the position as assistant dialect coach for the
production, adding another layer to my position as a guide for the actors through the world of the
play. Learning how to speak with an accurate Irish accent and then helping eight other people to
learn as well was a great challenge in and of itself. Attending rehearsals and paying attention to
the actors’ execution of the Irish accent while also focusing on my work in rehearsal as the
dramaturg was a balance I would need to master in order to perform both jobs to the best of my
ability.
Friel’s writing itself would prove a learning experience for myself and the rest of the
team. Before the production process began my director and I agreed that gaining an
understanding of memory plays, Friel’s reputation as the “Irish Chekov”, and the strong ties
between the play and the playwright’s own life would form a helpful foundation upon which we
could build our production. In order to build this foundation, I would need to find materials that
would place the play within its context and place in the theatrical tradition. Collecting these

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materials and helping the cast to explore them in a way that would not be overtaxing to their
schedules or to their work on the play itself would be an interesting challenge.
Another challenge for this production was allowing its themes of family, memory, and
change to shine through to the audience. A play taking place in 1930’s Ireland has some obvious
political, cultural, and religious charge. Early in the process of this production, however, the
director expressed a desire for our production not to aim at making any political or religious
points, but to simply share the experience of memories of family and change with the audience.
As the political, cultural, and religious components of the play are indeed important to the play’s
narrative, it was a tricky task to treat them in my dramaturgy while still keeping in mind that,
ultimately, the chief aim of our production was not to make a political or religious point.
Finally, the greatest challenge I encountered in this play was the balance of research and
interpretation. While it would be easy to read several books, type out some informational
packets, pull up some historical photos and be done, the dramaturg shouldn’t be solely a search
engine. I wanted to help create the most accurate world for the play possible, but I also wanted to
help create a production, an enriching experience for the team and the audience. It would be my
task as a dramaturg to stay in tune with what my director wanted to achieve with the production
and to help create the connection between our team, our play, and the audience that makes
theatre so wonderful. Experiencing aspects of the dramaturg’s work beyond research challenged
me but also helped me to discover (and get excited about) the broader sense of what it means to
be a dramaturg.

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Dancing at Lughnasa: The Process
The process of dramaturgy for Dancing at Lughnasa began with a conversation held between me
and my director about two weeks before the start of the school year. During this discussion, we
explored his vision for the play. This production of Dancing at Lughnasa would place less focus
on the play’s political and religious undertones and place more focus on its themes of family,
change, and memory. In establishing this direction for the production as a whole, my director
also established the direction for my work within the production. While I would certainly need to
help in establishing the play’s context and remain an informational resource for the production, I
would also be challenged to find a way to connect the audience, cast, and creative team to the
core themes established by my director.
Once the school year began, I dove into the “hunting and gathering” phase of my work.
Working from the script, I compiled a body of research with which I could create the
production’s basic informational packet and glossary of terms. In preparing my informational
packet and glossary of terms, I aimed to create a detailed but basic foundation of knowledge that
would be helpful to any production of the play. Beginning with this basic foundation, I intended
to tailor my further research to meet the needs of this particular production.
At the beginning of the rehearsal process, I focused on getting to know the cast and
creative team, doing my best to introduce myself them as an available resource for their work.
During the first week of rehearsals, I introduced myself to the cast and creative team, offered
them some homemade soda bread, and presented to them the basic informational packet. After
going through the packet with them, I expressed to them my intent to work as closely with the

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show as possible, answering questions as they arose and making sure they and the director had
what they needed in order to create their production of Dancing at Lughnasa.
As we moved forward with the rehearsal process, I began to learn the needs of this
particular production. I soon found myself working along with the cast to obtain a firmer grasp
on the world and lifestyle depicted within the play. For instance, shortly after rehearsals began,
the director and I discovered that not a single actor in the cast was Catholic. In response to this, I
hosted a discussion with the cast and director about Catholicism during which I gave a
presentation on Catholic culture and we discussed the place of Catholicism within the play. I also
received questions from the cast and creative team concerning the basic household tasks the
Mundy sisters perform in the play, the uniforms Father Jack would have worn, the films Gerry
would have watched, etc. I made sure I was always available to respond to these questions and
provide them with information useful to them. The cast, creative team, and I were able to
maintain this relationship throughout the rehearsal process. As I was present at most rehearsals,
actors were often able to come to me directly with their questions and concerns. Email also
proved useful, as it enabled me to help the actors at any time and from any place. By remaining
available and maintaining a close relationship with the cast, I was able to address their needs as
they arose and tailor my work to fit the needs of this particular cast and production.
As assistant dialect coach for the production, it was also my job to make sure that the
actors were warming up properly before each rehearsal and maintaining proper technique in their
speech. Balancing the roles of dialect coach and dramaturg proved an interesting challenge.
Being at rehearsal as both dramaturg and dialect coach, I had to watch each rehearsal paying
special attention to what the actors were doing with their mouths while still being able to answer
the director’s questions about what they were doing with their hands. In order to make the dual

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experience of rehearsal a bit more clear, I began to create small agendas for my participation at
each rehearsal. I tried to make sure that I was going into every rehearsal with a specific aspect of
the production (usually specified by the director) that I would keep an eye on. Developing a way
of staying focused in rehearsal helped me to better respond to each rehearsal in a way that was
helpful to the director and still make sure the actors were pronouncing Oughterard correctly.
While a good portion of my work was focused on helping the production maintain
accuracy, I also tried to keep in mind those major themes highlighted by my director at the
beginning of the production process. In order to get the cast thinking about these themes, I took
what opportunities I could to facilitate discussion between myself, the cast, and the director. One
such opportunity allowed me to plan a small get-together with the cast and director during which
we drank hot cocoa, ate soda bread, and discussed the play, our hopes for the production, the
discoveries we had been making, etc. As we were discussing a play centered entirely around
childhood memories, the topic of our own childhood memories inevitably came up. The act of
sharing childhood memories with others, the familiar bitter-sweetness of talking about people,
places, and experiences long gone struck me as way in which our production could push past the
overwhelming political and religious backdrop of the play and bring the themes of memory,
family, and change to center stage. The director and I encouraged the cast to keep the experience
of sharing childhood memories in mind, ask themselves what makes those stories different from
others, and how Dancing at Lughnasa tells those stories.
Following the thread of childhood memories I discovered during my conversation with
the cast and director, I moved on to search for a way in which I could encourage the same kind
of dialogue between the audience and our production. While my lobby display would include
helpful historical, political, and religious background on the play and information about the

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playwright, my director didn’t want the audience’s experience of the play to rest on the play’s
context. He wanted the more universal themes to maintain the foreground. It is for that reason
that he put in his director’s note nothing more than a simple dedication of the production to his
grandmother and aunts. I wanted to go in the same direction with my lobby display. Using one it
eh play’s major symbols, the Celtic tree of life, as a model, I made a large, bare, two-dimensional
tree out of some simple brown paper, duct tape, and brown paint. I then cut out dozens of little
paper green leaves and placed them in a basket next to the tree along with some pens and scotch
tape. On this tree, I wanted to begin the conversation, the sharing of childhood memories that
would only continue as the audience sat down and listened to Michael’s account of his
childhood. This part of the lobby display included an invitation for members of the audience to
write down a happy childhood memory on a leaf and attach it to the tree. The director, the cast,
members of the crew, and I contributed our own stories to the tree and, as I saw each night
during show week, so did the audience. By the time the show closed the tree had become a
conversation filled with funny, sad, heartwarming stories, not unlike that of the play. With the
death of Brian Friel only a month behind us, it was good to see that our production could be one
in keeping with the celebration of Friel’s life; a moment of reflection, not of confrontation. I was
overjoyed to see that we were able, at least in part, to place at the center of each show the themes
of family, change, and memory.
The experience of working on this production of Dancing at Lughnasa was an
illuminating one. The wonderful director, actors, and designers of this production gave me a
generous invitation to collaborate with them in creating this piece of theatre and that invitation
challenged me to step up and explore the many roles available to a dramaturg. It allowed me to

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reach out to the actors, director, and audience and discover the ways in which we could gain a
deeper understanding of Friel’s work create a rich, meaningful theatrical experience.

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From The Dramaturg
When relating fond memories of our childhoods we are tempted to candy-coat our stories, to
forget what we’ve learned to be real for the sake of those things we once thought were magic.
This is perfectly understandable. As we grow up, disillusionment begins to take hold; the
grownups we thought were superheroes turn out to be just as small and clueless as we are; and
the world becomes easier to predict and harder to forgive. Who wouldn’t want to take the
occasional retreat into nostalgia? Who wouldn’t want to experience the world just as we did
when we were seven?
Like our play’s narrator, Brian Friel was seven in 1936 and living in a small town in
Donegal, Ireland. Friel also grew up surrounded by his mother and four aunts, after whom the
women in our play are named, and even had an uncle who served as a missionary in Uganda.
Through Dancing at Lughnasa, Friel tells us a piece of his own story but does so without
flattering forgetfulness. In looking at childhood memories through an adult’s eyes, Friel reveals
the doubts and fears that grownups so often hide from their children. He adds explanation to
those moments in which a child would see explanation as impossible. In mixing the hazy
memories of childhood with the hard clarity of adulthood, however, Friel does not present these
memories with disappointment, but with tenderness and admiration. What explanation Friel
provides may remove some of the mystery from childhood memories, but it also makes those
memories which cannot be explained all the more remarkable. Friel shows us that, when we
avoid viewing the past through the eyes of the present, something precious may be lost.
For the next few minutes that you will spend in Ballybeg, you will be challenged to
enjoy the magical moments of childhood without forgetting the reality behind them, to forgive

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and admire childhood superheroes without forgetting their humanity. The story we are about to
share is a bittersweet one, but you may find that, without that hint of bitterness, the sweetness of
these memories would be incomplete.

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About The Playwright
Brian Friel was born January 9, 1929 in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Friel attended St.
Patrick’s college in Maynooth with the intention of being a priest, but eventually decided against
the priesthood and went on to become a teacher like his father had been before him. Friel then
moved on to St. Joseph’s Teacher Training College in Belfast. He then worked as a school
teacher in Derry for about ten years, all the
while trying his hand at writing.
In 1960 The New Yorker began to
regularly publish Friel’s short stories,
encouraging him to take up full-time writing,
frequently producing short stories and radio
plays. His first play, A Doubtful Paradise, was
produced by the Ulster Group Theatre in 1960.
The play was not well received, leading to a
small period of struggle for the young writer.
Shortly after the failure of his first play,
Friel traveled to the States to spend six months
observing a theatrical season at the Tyrone
Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In an interview with Lewis Funke in 1968, Friel
described his experience at the Guthrie as “a marvelous time”, stating that he was “absolutely
thrilled and awed by it”. Friel, inspired and invigorated by his experience at the Guthrie, returned
to Ireland in 1963 and wrote his first theatrical success, Philadelphia, Here I come!(1964) The
play was produced by the Dublin Theatre Festival and soon was taken to London and New York.
Having captured the attention of English, American, and Irish audiences, Friel went on to write
The Loves of Cass McGuire (1966) and Lovers (1967), both plays receiving positive reviews in
Ireland and the United States.
Friel lived and worked in a tumultuous and rapidly changing Northern Ireland, which
served as inspiration for many of Friel’s most influential plays. The Freedom of The City (1973)
and Volunteers (1975) were some of Friel’s most politically charged plays, acting as Friel’s

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commentary on the Troubles which shook Northern Ireland during his lifetime. A recurring
theme in Friels’ plays was also the clash between the traditional, religious Ireland of the past and
the increasingly progressive and secular Ireland of the 20th
century. This clash and its effects on
family ties and community are at the center of plays like Translations (1980) and Dancing at
Lughnasa (1990).
In 1980 Friel and actor Stephen Rea founded the Field Day Theatre Company in
Londonderry, Northern Ireland. In 1983 the company began publishing various pieces of
literature aimed at the academic community on a wide variety of historical, cultural, and artistic
topics.
Friel was married to Anne Morrison in 1954. They had five children and remained
married until Friel’s death. Friel was known for being shy and rarely made public statements. In
his Self Portrait (1972), however, the playwright gave the world insight into his views on his
own life and his future:
“I am married, have five children, live in the country, smoke too much, fish a bit, read a
lot, worry a lot, get involved in sporadic causes and invariably regret the involvement,
and hope that between now and my death I will have acquired a religion, a philosophy, a
sense of life that will make the end less frightening than it appears to me at this moment.”
Friel was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Seanad Eireann (the
Irish senate). Friel spent most of his years living in Donegal and died there on October 2, 2015,
at the age of 86.

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Glenties
Dancing at Lughnasa is Friel’s most directly biographical play. According to Friel, who, like
Michael, was also a boy of seven in 1936, the play is based on the lives of his mother and aunts
in Glenties, a small town in Donegal: “I had four aunts with those names and an uncle who came
back from being a missionary in Africa. My aunt Rose was a simple girl.” (Interview with Julie
Kavanagh, 1991) In Lughnasa, however, Friel presents his own, fictional version of Glenties in
the form of Ballybeg (from the Irish term Baile Beag, meaning “small town”). Though Ballybeg
is fictional, an image of the town Friel had in mind while writing Lughnasa may help us to gain a
more vivid image of the Mundy girls’ little town.
 Glenties is a village situated in Southeastern Donegal. It sits at the meeting of two rivers,
the Owenea and Stranaglough.
 Electricity was first generated in the
central village in 1932. Electricity
didn’t come to the more rural areas
until around 1950.
 Glenties saw a good portion of the
violence generated by the War of
Independence in 1920/1921, several
attacks by bothe the IRA and the Black
and Tans taking place near or in the
village.
 Glenties was the national winner of
Ireland’s Tidy Towns competition in
1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1995


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IRISH MYTHOLOGY & SYMBOLS
In an interview with Julie Kavanagh in 1991, Friel stated that Dancing at Lughnasa is “about the
necessity for paganism”. As Irish nationalism began to take shape in the 20th
century, the ancient
and mythological traditions of Ireland became an increasingly integral part of the Irish national
identity. These remnants of ancient Ireland have a palpable presence in Dancing at Lughnasa
and an understanding of their meaning and significance to the Irish people is important to an
understanding of the world in which the Mundy sisters live.
LUGH
The Celtic god of the sun, Lugh, was a prominent
figure in Irish pagan mythology. Lugh (which means
the shining one) was perpetually youthful, and full of
energy. Lugh was also the god of skill and distribution
of talent. He was a fierce warrior and is often depicted
holding his living spear (which was so bloodthirsty
that it would often try to fight without its owner) in
one hand and a sling in the other.
LUGHNASA
Lughnasa (sometimes spelled Lughnasadh) is one of
four Gaelic seasonal festivals. According to Irish
mythology, the festival was begun by Lugh as a
funeral feast in honor of his deceased mother, Tailtiu,
who was said to have died of exhaustion after clearing
the fields of Ireland to be used by farmers.
The feast as we know it celebrates the
beginning of the harvest season and is celebrated on
the Sunday nearest August first or the Sunday halfway
between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn equinox. Ancient celebrations of the festival
would include offering of the first harvests of corn, feasts, the sacrifice of a bull, and ritual
dance.
Lughnasa has managed to survive the Christianization of Ireland through various towns
in Ireland continuing to hold their own celebrations of the festival which include dancing,
parades, arts and craft workshops, storytelling, and open markets.
Irish Christianity has been infused with the festival in small ways.The Catholic church of
Ireland, for instance, observes the custom of blessing fields at Lughnasa. The pilgrimages to hill
and mountain tops often taken at Lughnasa have often been re-cast by missionaries as Christian
pilgrimages.

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THE CELTIC TREE OF LIFE
The Celtic tree of life (Crann Bethadh) was a centerpiece of
Celtic spirituality. At a basic level, trees were regarded as
an essential part of Celtic life as they provided food,
shelter and fuel. Spiritually, trees were symbolic of
the connection between earth and the spiritual
world. Trees were doorways to the spiritual world,
the word Druid itself being derived from the ancient
Gaelic words for oak and seeing.
The tree of life was also representative of the
cyclical, circular nature of life. The Irish Poet William
Butler Yeats beautifully expresses his view of the tree of
life in his poem, “Two Trees”:
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
There, through bewildered branches, go
Winged Loves borne on in gentle strife,
Tossing and tossing to and fro
The flaming circle of our life.
When looking on their shaken hair,
And dreaming how they dance and dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care:
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

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Dance
“When you come to the large elements and mysteries of life, they are ineffable. Words fail us at
moments of great emotion. Language has become depleted for me in some way; words have lost
their accuracy and precision. So I use dance in the play as a surrogate for language.”
- Brian Friel,
TRADITIONAL IRISH DANCE
Traditional Irish dance, along with Irish
music, have nearly always been an essential
part of Irish social life, community, and
identity. In the early 20th
century Irish
people, especially in rural areas, often
gathered in larges halls or at crossroads to
dance traditional ceili dances to the sound of
traditional Irish reels and hornpipes. These
dances were performed by large groups,
often hand-in-hand, and featured intricate
footwork and patterns of movement. The
spontaneous and often wild nature of these dances was frowned upon by local Irish governments
and members of the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland. Despite the protest of these entities, however,
Irish social dance was able to thrive in the first few years of the 20th
century.
THE PUBLIC DANCE HALLS ACT OF 1935
1920’s and 30’s, a time of social and political upheaval in Ireland, did not leave the world of
Irish dance and music unscathed. As Irish organizations like the Irish Republican party, the Fine
Gael and Labour parties, and the Catholic hierarchy began to assert themselves and stake a claim
in the establishment of a new Irish identity, the house dance and crossroads dance fell among

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their many targets. These groups linked the
unsupervised and spontaneous social dances as
dangerous in that they promoted scandalous and even
unsanitary behavior.
In response to the “nuisance” of these social dances,
the government of Fianna Fail (the Irish Republican
party) introduced the Public Dance Halls Act of 1935.
This act imposed a strict licensing system on public
social dance, forcing social dance out of its
spontaneous and traditional context and into licensed,
commercialized dance halls. The forcing of dance into
commercial institutions began the slow decline of
traditional Irish dance and music. Making way for the
fox-trot, the waltz, and other ballroom dances, the Irish set dance and traditional music all but
disappeared. It would not be until the later part of the 20th
century that they would make their
return.

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Father Jack’s Journey
IRELAND AND WORLD WAR I
At least 200,000 Irish-born soldiers served in the
British Army during WWI. Father Jack would have
been a member of the Army Chaplains’ Department.
The situation of the Irish soldier serving in the
British military was a difficult one. This was mainly
because while they were off fighting under the
British flag, a war for Irish freedom from Britain was
beginning to form at home. While Irish nationalists
and unionists, Catholics and Protestants alike
supported the British war effort initially, the
beginning of an armed rebellion against British rule
in Dublin in 1916 tore a rift in that unified effort.
This rift would only widen as the tensions between Ireland
and England would escalate until a full on War of
Independence was underway in 1919. Soldiers who
served faithfully with the British army often returned
home to find their work unappreciated and even
resented by Irish nationalists. Due to the complicated
nature of Ireland’s involvement with the First World
War, the sacrifices and heroism of Irish soldiers for the
British cause often went unsung.

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THE LIFE OF AN ARMY CHAPLAIN
As a Catholic priest, Father Jack would have had a non-combatant status
while serving in the war effort. His duties would have been to administer
the sacraments of the Catholic Church to the soldiers. This would include
saying Mass on a regular basis, providing the sacrament of reconciliation
or even offering a general absolution to the soldiers before a battle,
granting the wounded and dying the Anointing of the Sick, and ultimately
conducting funeral and burial services for the dead. The army chaplain
would also act as a spiritual advisor for all soldiers in his unit and was
heavily involved in maintaining morale.
LEPER COLONIES IN EAST AFRICA
Stories like Father Jack’s regarding the
East African missions and leper colonies
are hard to find, but they are, by no
means, far-fetched. Limited resources
and unhygienic conditions easily led to
widespread disease in rural parts of
Africa. One of the most insidious of
these diseases was leprosy. Give
leprosy’s highly contagious nature,
individuals showing symptoms were
automatically quarantined. This happened on such a large scale that large, and often self-
sustaining leper communities formed. Between 1927 and 1934, Christian missionaries began to
run large-scale leper communities in Uganda. With these communities, Christian missionaries
could provide medical aid to the suffering Ugandans while also spreading their faith to what they
believed was an uncivilized nation. Christian missionaries like Jack continually ran the risk of
contracting disease like malaria or leprosy itself and would often be sent home with these
illnesses.

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“GOING NATIVE”
While accounts of such
happenings are not widespread,
the phenomenon of “going native”
was a reality of the cross-cultural
experience that was missionary
work. Missionaries like Mary
Slessor in the late 1800’s would
delve into, master, and develop
enthusiasm for their host culture,
often to the point of adopting the
culture entirely as their own. While
many of these missionaries became beloved parts of their host communities, those in their
homelands would typically hold a negative view of this cultural adoption. One can imagine that a
country like Ireland which was trying desperately to cling to its identity as a Catholic country
would frown upon the loss of one of its own priests to the culture and even religion of another
country. The fact that the term “going native” even exists is a testament to the significance of the
phenomenon and bears some shadows of the negative connotations “going native” had in the
Christian West.

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Ireland in 1936
INDEPENDENCE
1936 Ireland was a country emerging from years of
conflict. From the 1916 Easter Uprising to the War
of Independence which lasted from 1919 to 1921,
Ireland had been torn apart by the violent guerilla
warfare between British forces and the IRA (Irish
Republican Army). The war ended in the division
of Ireland into two parts, Northern Ireland, which
remained a constituent unit of the United
Kingdom, and the Irish Free State, a self-
governing state with dominion status.
The newly independent Irish Free State
(which would remain so until 1937, when
the country adopted a new constitution, cut
ties completely with England, and opted to
simply be called Ireland) set to work
establishing itself as an independent entity
while conflict would continue in Northern
Ireland for nearly fifty more years.

23. Coffey 23
THE NEW/OLD IRISH CULTURE
People of 1930’s Ireland amused themselves in a
variety of ways. In the early 1930s, few people had
access to radio. The state-run station, known as 2RN,
was a division of the Post Office. In 1932 only about
five per cent of households held radio licences and
most of these were in the east of the country. This
number increased to 100,000 following the opening of
a new transmitter in Athlone in 1933.
Cinema was a very popular form of
entertainment. It provided a glimpse of more
glamorous lifestyles, far removed from everyday Irish life. But in some quarters Cinema was
seen as a bad influence. It was believed to have a demoralizing effect on the young, undermining
their Christian standards of morality and decency. (http://www.muckross-house.ie)
1930’s Ireland was one deeply concerned with rebuilding its national identity. From
teaching the Irish language in schools to strengthening the influence of the Catholic church in the
Irish community, the Irish identity became a much more solid entity in the 1930’s.
THE SUFFERING IRISH ECONOMY
Ireland, like many other European countries,
suffered an economic depression in the
1930’s.The newly established Irish government
tried to harbor a protectionist policy and
promote a self-sufficient Ireland, beginning an
industrialization program for the newly
independent country. Despite their best efforts,
Ireland struggled to find new outlets for trade
and Irish exports failed to rise. Ireland fell into
an economic slump and unemployment spiked.

24. Coffey 24
WHAT IS A MEMORY PLAY?
"Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage
magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant
disguise of illusion."
-Tom, The Glass Menagerie
Dancing at Lughnasa is a “memory play”, a term coined by playwright Tennessee Williams
regarding his play, The Glass Menagerie. A memory play is a play in which a narrator tells the
story of the play as it is acted out on stage. A unique characteristic of memory plays, however, is
that the stories of these plays are played out in the way the narrator remembers them. This means
that the audience can see these memories only
through the eyes of narrator. The audience sees
the events of the plays as they are remembered
by the narrator, not necessarily exactly as they
occurred.
Like Tom in The Glass Menagerie, Michael is only able to tell us what he remembers, taking
away the omniscience of the audience by limiting the information they are given. The audience’s
knowledge of the play and the characters can at times, however, be extended by the memories of
the play’s narrator. For example, Michael
disillusions the audience by revealing the fates of
his aunts, mother and uncle. In The Glass
Menagerie and Dancing at Lughnasa, memory is
not used to paint a story in solely a good light,
but to give an honest portrayal of an individual’s
memories.

25. Coffey 25
Characters
KATE MUNDY: Kate Mundy, 40, is a schoolteacher in Ballybeg and the eldest of the Mundy
sisters. She is the only steady wage-earner and the mother figure of the family. In her younger
days she was involved locally in the War of Independence. It is mentioned that Kate may
possibly have feelings for Austin Morgan, the owner of Morgan’s Arcade in town. Despite her
own deep conservatism and religiousness, Kate loses her job at the local school because of
Father Jack’s reputation.
MAGGIE MUNDY: Maggie Mundy, 38, acts as the main homemaker for the family instead of
pursuing a career. She is an avid smoker and is partial to Wild Woodbine brand cigarettes.
Maggie was interested in Brian McGuinness, a local boy, in her teens. After the disappearance of
Agnes and Rose, Maggie continues with life as usual, taking on Agnes and Rose’s tasks.
AGNES MUNDY: Agnes Mundy, 35, is a knitter for a local shopkeeper in town, Vera
McLaughlin. Agnes is Rose’s special caretaker and is more welcoming to Gerry than the other
sisters. After losing her job as a knitter, she runs away with Rose to England. Along with Rose,
she works in England as a cleaning woman in public bathrooms and eventually becomes the sole
supporter of herself and Rose. She and Rose eventually become homeless and Agnes dies of
exposure.
ROSE MUNDY: Rose Mundy, 32, is a knitter like Agnes. Rose is “simple” and behaves much
younger than her years. Rose has a pet white rooster which is later killed by a fox (or possibly
Father Jack). Rose believes that a local man, Danny Bradley, is in love with her, despite her
sisters’ belief that he is using her. Rose runs away with Agnes to England and dies shortly after
Agnes does in a hospice for the destitute.
CHRIS MUNDY: Chris Mundy, 26, is the youngest of the Mundy sisters and Michael’s mother.
Like Maggie, she has no job. She fluctuates between moments of hopefulness and joy with
Gerry’s visits and then deep depressions when he disappears again. She never knows about
Gerry’s other family. Chris eventually finds work in a factory which she hates and keeps that job
until her death.

26. Coffey 26
MICHAEL EVANS: Michael Evans, the play’s protagonist, is seven during most of the play’s
events. He grows up in Ballybeg but eventually moves away from the town to pursue his own
career. Michael is able to track down Rose and Agnes after their disappearance and is even able
to gain contact with his half-brother by his father, Gerry,
FATHER JACK MUNDY: Father Jack Mundy, 53, is a retired Catholic missionary and army
chaplain returned from service in Uganda. Father Jack suffers from malaria and is often confused
about his location and the identities of the people around him. While in Uganda, Jack has
adopted cultural and religious aspects of his host community and, consequently, turns away from
the traditions of the Catholic Church. Father Jack never says another mass after his return to
Donegal. Jack dies of a heart attack a year after his return from Uganda.
GERRY EVANS: Gerry Evans, 33, is Michael’s Father. Gerry, who is Welsh, drifts from job to
job, at one time working as a door-to-door gramophone salesman, at another time working as a
ballroom dance instructor. He eventually leaves Ireland and joins the International Brigade and
goes to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He is wounded in Spain by falling off of his motorbike.
Michael visits Chris and Michael occasionally and eventually disappears. It is later revealed that
Gerry had a wife and three children, in whose care he died peacefully in his family home in
Wales.

27. Coffey 27
Glossary of Terms
Lugh (pg.9): Lugh (taken from the Celtic word for light) is one of the major deities of the
ancient Celtic religion. He is the god of the sun and skills in the arts.
La Lughnasa (pg. 9): Lughnasa (sometimes spelled Lughnasadh) is one of four Gaelic seasonal
festivals. The festival is dedicated to Lugh and is celebrated at the time of harvest, usually in
mid-August. (See Actors’ Packet for details.)
National School Teacher (pg.9) National schools were primary schools originally established
by the State and jointly administered by both protestant and Catholic representatives. However,
after the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921, the National School’s curricula changed
significantly to favor and place
emphasis on a Catholic religious
education.
Marconi (pg. 10) The wireless
radio in the Mundy home was
created by Marconi’s Wireles
Telegraph Company, named for
Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian
physicist and inventor of the
wireless telegraph.
Jaundice (pg. 10) Jaundice is the
result of an overproduction of
bile in the liver. This results in an
excess of bile in the bloodstream,
causing discoloration in the skin and whites of the eyes (often yellow).
Malaria (pg.10) Malaria is a relapsing infection commonly spread by
the bite of infected mosquitos. Malaria is common in temperate and
tropical areas of the globe. Entire populations in sub-Saharan Africa are
infected almost constantly.
Symptoms include chills, fever,
headache, muscle ache, nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal
cramps. Anemia, enlargement of
the spleen, and general weakness is
also often found in malaria patients.
Athlone (pg.10) Althone is a town along the river Shannon
in county Westmeath, Ireland

28. Coffey 28
De Valera (pg. 12) Eamon de Valera (1882-1975) was an active Irish
revolutionary from 1913, president of the Sinn Fein (the political wing
of the IRA) and founder of the Fianna Fail party, the dominant political
party in the Republic of Ireland in the 1930’s. He declared Ireland a
sovereign state in 1937 and renamed it simple Ireland or Eire. (Fun fact:
De Valera was a lead figure in the 1916 Easter uprising, but escaped
execution because he was actually born in New York.)
Whin-Bush (pg.13) A course, prickly flowering
plant common to parts of northern Ireland.
Quinine (pg. 13) Quinine is a drug most widely used to treat malaria. It
holds anti-inflammatory properties and, while it cannot cure malaria, spurs vast improvement in
a relatively short amount of time.
Lough Anna (pg. 14) A lake in Glenties (the model town for Ballybeg) in Donegal, Ireland.
Fish Charm (pg. 14) The fish, especially the salmon, in Celtic mythology, is a symbol of
wisdom and foresight.
Miraculous Medal (pg.14) The Miraculous Medal is a medal
worn by many Catholics which features an image of the Virgin
Mary. Many Catholics believe that wearing the medal will
earn the wearer special graces through the Virgin Mary’s
intercession.
Barley Sugar Sweet (pg.16) Barley sugar sweets are a hard
candy widely available in Ireland and the UK. It is often
orange/yellow in color and is made with extract of barley.
War of Independence (pg.17) The War of Independence was a
guerilla conflict between Britain and the Irish Republican Army
over Irish independence from Great Britain. The war officially
ran between 1919 and 1921, but the violence related to this
conflict began years before the actual war and lasted long after.

29. Coffey 29
Carrickfad (pg.19) Carrickfad is a small town in county Leitrim.
Annie M.P. Smithson (pg.19) Annie M.P. Smithson was an Irish novelist, poet, and was widely
known to be an Irish nationalist. Her first novel, Her Irish Heritage, was published in 1917 and
quickly became an Irish best-seller. She published twenty novels and two collections of short
stories.
The Marriage of Nurse Harding (pg.20) A novel by Annie M.P. Smithson which was
published in 1935. The novel, like many of Smithson’s works, features a deeply patriotic and
Catholic Irish heroine.
Indian Meal (pg.24) Indian Meal (Indian Head) is a popular
brand of cornmeal
Wild Woodbine (pg.24)
Woodbine was a brand of very
strong, unfiltered cigarettes. They
were especially popular among
soldiers during WWI and WWII.
You can still buy Woodbine
cigarettes (with filters in them, of
course).
Bilberry (pg.24) Bilberries are
closely related to and look a lot
like blueberries. It is native to
the British Isles. They grow on low shrubs and are often
difficult to find. They are softer and juicier than blueberries,
though their taste is comparable to that of blueberries.
Eejit (pg.28) An Irish and Scottish form of “idiot”.
Ardstraw (pg. 29) A village in western county Tyrone.

30. Coffey 30
Surplice (pg.31) A loose-fitting, broad-sleeved white vestment, worn over
the cassock by clergy and choristers.
Corner-boy (pg. 32) A disreputable man or youth who spends his time
loitering on the street
Wellingtons (pg.32) A knee-length, waterproof rubber boot.
Ginger Rogers (pg. 32) Ginger Rogers
(1911-1995) was an American actress and
dancer greatly known for her work as Fred
Astaire’s dance partner in such musical films
as Swing Time (1936), The Gay Divorcee
(1934), and Top Hat (1935).
Turf Box (pg.35) Turf (also called peat) is a soil-like substance
made of decaying plants, moss, etc. mingled with earth from bogs
or mires. The peat is dug out of the ground in bricks and used for
fuel. Most Irish households without electricity or gas had turf boxes
by their fireplaces or stoves to hold their pieces of turf to be used in
their stoves and fireplaces.
Sligo (pg.36) Sligo is a small town in county Sligo and is a seaport on the
western coast or Ireland. The town, as a seaport, is of regional importance with
regards to its commerce and retail.
Morris Cowley (pg.36) The Morris Cowley
was a type of motorcar produced by Morris
Motors, an important car manufacturer in
Great Britain.
Gramophone (pg.38) Also known as a
phonograph or record player, the
gramophone was the first mechanical way of
reproducing recorded sound. In the 1930’s gramophones were
a typical part of an Irish household.
Minerva Gramophones (pg.38) A model of
gramophone available in Ireland and Britain
throughout the early 20th
century.

31. Coffey 31
Oughterard (pg. 38) Oughterard is a small town in county
Galway, situated at the western shore of Lough Corrib.
Kilkenny (pg. 39) Kilkenny is a town in county Kilkenny,
southeastern Ireland. Kilkenny is a tourist destination known
for its old churches and monasteries.
International Brigade
(pg.41) International
Brigades were groups of soldiers from over 50 countries who
participated in the Spanish Civil war. Irish involvement was
most commonly aligned with the Nationalist side of the civil
war, with Irish, American, and British soldiers fighting in
support of Francisco Franco. However, the communist cause
fighting against Franco’s forces did attract some Irish support.
St. Patrick (pg. 44) St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was
a bishop and Catholic missionary in Ireland in the 5th
century.
Patrick was popularly believed to win the Irish people over and
convert them to Catholicism with explanation of the Holy
Trinity using a shamrock and such miraculous acts as driving all
snakes from the country.
Kampala (pg.49) Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is also the
country’s largest city. The city served as a medical and food
resource for smaller surrounding villages (like the fictional
Ryanga).
“Going native” (pg.50) Often meant in a disparaging or
humorous way, the term “going native” refers to those
missionaries or travelers who adopt the social, cultural customs of
their host country, village, etc.
Mass (pg.58) The Mass is considered the central and highest form
of prayer in the Catholic faith. The Mass is centered on the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which
Catholics believe that Jesus Christ’s body,
blood, soul, and divinity are made present in the
form of bread and wine.
Palm Wine (pg.59) Palm Wine is made from
the sap of various types of palm trees. It is
commonly made and consumed in Africa and
various parts of Asia, the Caribbean and South
America.

32. Coffey 32
Gilbert and Sullivan (pg. 60) Librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan formed the
Vitcorian-Era duo of Gilbert and Sullivan. They are widely known for their comic operas, The
Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance.
Sanctuary (pg. 61) In a Catholic church, the sanctuary is a consecrated area of the church in
which the tabernacle holding the Eucharist is kept and the Mass is said.
Armagh (pg.62) Armach is a town in County Armagh,
Northern Ireland. It is the Catholic center of Ireland,
and is the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh (of which
St. Patrick was one).
Popular Front (pg.62)While the Popular Front was a
term often used to refer to the communist, anti0fascist
side of the Spanish Civil War. It is used in Lughnasa to
refer to the nationalist, Franco-led side of the war.
Aerial (pg.63) The aerial of a radio is its antenna.
Industrial Revolution (pg.71) The industrial revolution
took place largely during the 18th
and 19th
centuries. It
was the transition of western countries into modern
means of production through the establishment of
factories and accelerated innovation in manufacturing
machinery.
Thames Embankment (pg.72) Built as a means of controlling
and making usable the marsh lands along the river Thames, the
Thames Embankment is a structure built primarily with granite
which includes a road and walkway. The Embankment stretches
from Putney High Street to Beverly Brook.
Pope Pius XI (pg. 75) Pius XI
was a pontiff of the Catholic
Church from 1922 to 1939. He
was the first pope to reign as
sovereign of Vatican City as an
independent state.
Shirley Temple (pg.77) Shirley
Temple (1928-1914) was an
American actress, singer, and
dancer. She was known primarily for her work as a child in such
musical films as Curly Top (1935), Bright Eyes (1934), and The
Little Rebel (1934). These films often featured elaborate dance
routines performed by Temple.

33. Coffey 33
Charlie Chaplin (pg. 81) Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was an English filmmaker and actor
known for his silent films and his on-screen persona, “the tramp”. He is one of the most iconic
figures in film, with several of his films including City Lights (1932) and The Great Dictator
(1940) still garnering high acclaim.

34. Coffey 34
EMAILS
22 October, 2015
Hi there, Gerry!
Here are some videos in which you will find the classic Chaplin walk. These are no doubt films
with which Gerry would have been very familiar and would have enjoyed often, especially since
the cinema was on the rise at the time:
Examples of the walk start at about 9:00 in this one. They continue throughout the rest of the
film- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ast6629RiVg
This one starts out with the Chaplin walk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SynZx_TP74k
Did you know there was a song about the Chaplin Walk?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svih10EdWe4
Enjoy! And let me know if you have any more questions!
Best,
Coffey
22 October 2015
Alright! How do the Mundy girls iron?
Here are two adorable women explaining how ladies ironed without electricity. I'm not sure
what's going on in the second half of the Olive Riley video, but what she says is helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCj_rqjxdys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLV3jcabIqs

35. Coffey 35
Now, it's far more likely that the Mundy ladies would be using a sad iron instead of a coal iron.
Coal was pricey and the ladies burn turf for heat. This next video, yes, is a cartoon, but it gives a
good, close-up look at how these irons work (and how other aspect of old-fashioned washing
worked). Also, I think Mrs. Tiggywinkle is adorable. Yay Beatrix Potter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8VW18S1yzk
If you need any more information let me know! I'll see if I can find some written instructions for
you!
Happy Laundry-ing!
Best,
Coffey
23 October, 2015
What. The Heck. Is Turf?
Turf is what many others would call peat. It is a soil-like substance made of decaying plants,
moss, etc. mingled with earth from bogs or mires. The peat is dug out of the ground in bricks and
used for fuel. Turf is and has been used widely in Ireland, to the point that there are even peat
manufacturing companies. The turf the girls are using, however, is not machine produced and is
probably the product of their own surrounding bogs and peat lands.
Here are some tutorials on how to cut and burn turf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufwvFOXUCnc
This guy is using manufactured briquettes, but it's the same
principle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPrRAtrE-Oc
Burn, baby burn! Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you!
Best,
Coffey

36. Coffey 36
3 November 2015
Hello, Tyler!
Here are some glimpses of what the rituals Fr. Jack witnessed may have looked/sounded like!
Ryanga is, of course, a fictional place, leaving us with little to go off of when trying to find a
similar town/tribe. But dance as celebration and ritual is shared by many Ugandan traditions and
we can get a rough idea from the few we can find. (The second video is really interesting! The
first 10 or so minutes are probably the most helpful to you, but the rest is worth checking out and
might be helpful in getting an idea of Fr. Jack's Ugandan lifestyle).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHIxass5t-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAR9ZiZXHQc
Best,
Coffey

37. Coffey 37
Audience Connectivity Display