An Grianán Theatre () is the largest theatre in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

. Located in

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

's Port Road district, its current director is Patricia McBride. With a seating capacity of 383, the theatre provides a range of programming including drama, comedy, music, pantomime, and family shows as well as workshops and classes. It is used annually as a festival venue, including for the

Earagail Arts Festival The Earagail Arts Festival () is an annual festival which takes place in County Donegal, Ireland, every June or July. The festival began in June 1988. The Festival includes parades, street performances and numerous plays, musical concerts and ...

, and has twice hosted

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann The Fleadh Cheoil (), or "music festival" in English, is an annual Ireland, Irish arts festival and competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish pronunciation: Help:IPA/Irish, Seán Maloney advised the then Minister for the Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins">Seán Maloney (Irish politician)">Seán Maloney advised the then Minister for the Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Michael D. Higgins to view a site in Letterkenny in exchange for a lift to a Labour Party function in Donegal. Higgins visited the Rectory Field, declared it the best site for a theatre he had ever seen and approved a £1.5 million grant the following February for what would become An Grianán Theatre. The North West Theatre Project launched a major fundraising campaign in March 1997. An Grianán first opened its doors on Monday 4 October 1999 and had its official opening later that year on 12 November. ''Magic of the Musicals'' was the first show performed on the An Grianán stage. It hosted

in the summers of 2005 and 2006.An Grianan Theatre :: Performances 2006
. Angrianan.com. It hosted the Pan Celtic Festival in 2007. On Saturday 12 May 2007, a Rathmullan based graphic design studio picked up the 2007 European Design Award in Athens, Greece. A jury of Europe's top design critics selected the studio's variable design for An Grianán Theatre from a pool of work by many other top European designers. In 2015 it won an award for its Disability Access. In 2013 it won an award as the IMRO Ulster Music Venue of The Year.

Performances

;Music An Grianán has attracted a number of well-known musicians, actors, and comedians in recent years.

The Frames The Frames are an Irish rock band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six studio albums. In addition to Hansard, the band's current line-up inc ...

play there on a regular basis. The Letterkenny Trad Week, which took place in January 2015, featured a number of artists such as Maura O’Connell and Karan Casey, Paddy Glackin and John Doyle. Scottish singer Isla Grant made a return to Ireland in February 2015 with her tour, playing in An Grianán on the 10th. Back in 2005,

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and Diatonic button accordion, melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shann ...

played in An Grianán. In 2000, An Grianán was the venue for the world premiere of the new Irish musical '' Caisleain Oir''. The musical is based on the Irish novel of the same name but it is in the English language. It returned again in 2001, 2005, and was produced by An Grianan Productions in 2013. :''Below is a list of other notable bands and musicians who have performed at An Grianán:'' * Albert Niland ''( 13 October 2006)'' *

''(4 May 2005)'' *

Jack L Jack Lukeman (born Seán Loughman 11 February 1973), usually simply known as Jack L, is an Irish songwriter, musician, record producer, vocal artist and broadcaster. Early life Lukeman was born as Seán Loughman in St Vincent's Hospital, Athy; ...

''(4 November 2006)'' ;Comedy Ardal O’Hanlon brought his stand-up act to An Grianán in May 2012 (Ardal played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted''). Neil Delamare has also performed there with his show ''The Fresh Prince of Delamare''. Other comedians to perform at the venue have included: *

Des Bishop Desmond Bishop (born 12 November 1975) is an American - Irish comedian. He was brought up in New York and moved to Ireland at the age of 14. He primarily resides there. Early life Bishop attended St. Francis Preparatory School in the Fresh M ...

Tommy Tiernan Tommy Tiernan (; born 16 June 1969) is an Irish comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his stand-up career, hosting '' The Tommy Tiernan Show'' (2017–present) and playing Gerry in the sitcom '' Derry Girls'' (2018–2022). Early l ...

Ardal O'Hanlon Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in ''My Hero (British TV series), My Hero'' (2000–2006), and DI Jack Moone ...

Dara Ó Briain Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the Wee ...

Dylan Moran Dylan William Moran ( ; born ) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor and artist. He is best known for his observational comedy, the comedy series '' Black Books'' (which he co-wrote and starred in), and his work with Simon Pegg in films such as ' ...

* Ed Byrne *

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...

* Colin Murphy *

Neil Delamere Neil Delamere ( ; born 1979) is an Irish comedian. He is a regular on the BBC Northern Ireland television show '' The Blame Game'', and was the BBC Fighting Talk Champion of Champions in 2022. Early life and education Delamere is from Ede ...

Andrew Maxwell Andrew Maxwell (born 3 December 1974) is an Irish comedian and narrator, known for narrating the MTV reality series '' Ex on the Beach''. Career In 1992, Maxwell tried stand-up comedy for the first time at the Comedy Cellar at The Internation ...

* Brendan Grace *

Pat Shortt Patrick Shortt (born 12 December 1967) is an Irish actor, comedian, writer, and entertainer. His role in the 2007 film '' Garage'' led to him receiving the IFTA for Best Actor. He is most notably remembered for his role as Tom in the television ...

Jon Kenny Jonathan Kenny (28 September 1957 – 15 November 2024) was an Irish comedian and actor, best known as one half of the Irish comic duo D'Unbelievables with Pat Shortt. They were a successful duo until 2000, releasing ''One Hell of a Video, D'U ...

* Phil Kay * Jason Byrne *

David O'Doherty David Nicholas O'Doherty (; born 18 December 1975) is an Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright and son of renowned jazz pianist Jim Doherty. His stand-up has won many international awards, including the if.comedy award in 2008 ...

;Drama and dance Some drama or dance acts that performed in 2014: : Ireland's most acclaimed dance company, Fabulous Beast came to An Grianán in September 2014 with their international hit ''Rian UnPlugged''. The Irish Aerial Dance Fest provides workshops and performances for three weeks each June. ---- Theatre-lk

:''Below is a list of notable dramas and dances which were performed at An Grianán in 2006:'' ;National and international * ''

Knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...

'' by CoisCeim Dance Theatre ''(21 February 2006)'' * ''

Like Watching Paint Dry In English, the word ''like'' has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, filler, quotative, and semi-suffix. Us ...

'' by Ursula Mawson-Raffalt and Anthony J Faulder-Mawson ''(21—23 September 2006)'' * '' I Miss Communism'' by

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and Mark Soper ''(29 September 2006)'' * ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...

'' by

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

– (Keegan Theatre Co) ''(10—11 October 2006)'' ;Local * '' 12 Angry Men'' performed by

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

Players (14–—15 March 2006) * '' Ay Carmela'' by

José Sanchis Sinisterra José Sanchis Sinisterra (born June 28, 1940) is a Spanish playwright and theatre director. He was born in Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of ...

in association with Wink Productions (21–22 March 2006)

Facilities

;Public facilities An Grianán can also be used as a corporate venue, offering advanced technical and catering facilities. In addition to this, a full range of projection equipment is available for use. The eatery café is open all day, and transforms into a bar on show nights. There are a variety of options on the menu, whether you're looking for just a tea or coffee, or something more substantial. There is also a free car park to the rear of the theatre. There are full facilities for people with disabilities including designated seating in the auditorium, a lift and specially adapted WC. There is also an inductive loop hearing system. There is ample and spacious parking to the rear of the building. ;Private facilities The backstage area has a number of facilities for visiting performers including three dressing rooms, private bathrooms and a

green room In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre, or a similar venue, that functions as a waiting room and lounge for Performing arts, performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on Stage (thea ...

. There is a framed T-shirt in the green room declaring it ‘the best room in Ireland’ signed by Oscar-winning songwriter

Glen Hansard Glen James Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten o ...

. There is also a costume department that can be found through a series of doors off the downstairs foyer that has a number of props and costumes from previous shows. There are also a number of workshop areas backstage and off the foyer downstairs. A mirror may be found on the right as one heads from the green room toward the stage. The stage is entered through a door from the left-hand side facing the audience.

Exhibitions

The foyers and public galleries are used as an exhibition space. :''Recent exhibits are listed below:'' Some recent ones include: “Ephemera an exhibition by Robert Clarke” (September 2014), “Fairytale Fantasies with Samantha Robinson” (October 2014) and “serene by Katriona Dempsey and Valerie Würmli” (February/March 2015). 13 March saw the official opening of the ''Names Will Never Hurt Me'' exhibition put together by members of the LOFT LK. The exhibition was run in conjunction with the LOFT's Mental Health Week and contains a number of images on canvas and paper of various themes associated with mental health. Some of the images have attracted controversy due to their content.

Workshops and classes

;LYT Letterkenny Youth Theatre is run in association with An Grianán Theatre and usually meets on Wednesdays. It has run a number of small one-off productions in the past in Letterkenny. Some past LYT shows include ''Alien Nation'' (2008), ''La Vide de Picasso'' (2009), and ''The Taming of the Shrew'' (2010). On Thursday 25 June and Friday 26 June 2009, LYT ran a two-night show in the theatre in which they performed a devised piece entitled ''La Vide de Picasso''.An Grianan Theatre :: Performances 2008
. Angrianan.com. LYT performed ''The Taming of the Shrew'' in 2010. On 22 August 2010, LYT entertained crowds at a festival in the

Glebe Gallery Glebe House and Glebe Gallery are located just outside the town of Letterkenny near Churchill. The house was built in 1828. The English portrait and landscape painter Derek Hill lived and worked there from 1954 until he presented the house an ...

by performing various different monologues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:An Grianan Theatre Buildings and structures in Letterkenny Culture in Letterkenny Theatres in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Donegal