Celebrating Brian Friel: A Gala Performance of Dancing at Lughnasa to Support the Brian Friel Centre

Anne Friel at the event with President Michael D. Higgins and his wife, Sabina.

The Gate Theatre and the Brian Friel Trust held a very special gala performance of DANCING AT LUGHNASA by Brian Friel, at the Gate Theatre on Sunday 25th August at 2pm. This was a fundraising event. The proceeds raised will support the opening of THE BRIAN FRIEL CENTRE in the courthouse in Glenties, Co Donegal, along with the renovation of THE LAURELS, the former home of Friel’s aunts that provided the inspiration for Dancing at Lughnasa.

The Trust has already made a significant start in realising its dream of The Brian Friel Centre by securing a long-term lease of the courthouse in Glenties, and by purchasing and beginning the renovation of The Laurels cottage. The Trust is now inviting the public to support this project as it enters its next exciting phase.

By supporting the gala performance of this critically acclaimed production on the 25th August, participants were given the opportunity to be part of a dynamic, forward-looking project that both honours one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights and secures an innovative cultural future for that part of Donegal which shaped his imagination.

The performance was followed by a silent auction in the Gate Bar, which saw the radio from the original production of Lughnasa, an original artwork of The Laurels by Donegal artist John Boyle, and signed memorabilia go under the hammer.